Texts and Insanity
by PteraWaters
Summary: Kurt has a secret admirer who decides to let his affections be known via sext. Who is he? Will Kurt's relationship with the admirer always be virtual or will there will be a new power couple at WMHS? Rated M for language and sexy boy/boy imagery!
1. Kurt has a Secret Admirer

_A/N: _

_Hello, Gleeks! _

_I have recently joined the legions of Puck/Kurt (aka Purt, Puckurt, or my personal favorite: Pummel) fans, which is completely __**Pyropadawan's **__fault. You should really check out his story, __**Kurt's Gamble**__, which is excellent. You should also check out stories by **The-Jellybaby-Bandit**, who I've probably borrowed a few things from on accident!  
_

_Summary: Kurt has a secret admirer who decides to let his affections be known via sext. Who is he? Will Kurt's relationship with the admirer always be virtual or will there will be a new power couple at William McKinley High? Rated M for language and sexy boy/boy imagery._

_Since I have too many works in progress, I finished this one before I began posting, so never fear. I will try to adhere to a three-times-a-week posting schedule for all 18 chapters. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity **

Chapter 1 – Kurt Has a Secret Admirer

Kurt's life had changed drastically in the past year, but sadly, some things were exactly the same. Kurt's dad found someone special, and Kurt got a new brother instead of a boyfriend. Kurt made eleven good friends in glee club, but he still got slushied at least once a week. Kurt had come out, for God's sakes, and people called him hurtful names even more often. All he had was the knowledge that he was better than every one of those bullies, in the long run. All he had was his slowly weakening pride.

When Kurt's phone rumbled and chimed in his hand one evening while he was doing his homework in his room, he immediately checked the screen, as he had been waiting for a text from Artie about their English assignment. Instead, the screen read: _Hey, Kurt? This your number?_ Oddly, his caller ID didn't recognize the sender.

Thumbs flying over the screen of his iPhone as he sat at his desk, gladly abandoning the homework he had yet to do, Kurt replied:_ Yes. Who is this?_

Everyone had always told Kurt that junior year was the most difficult year to get through, and he was finding the sentiment so true he felt like crying. There was school work to keep up with if he wanted to get into NYU. There were the football practices that he'd let Coach Tanaka bully him into so McKinley could win on a regular basis. And then there was his heart and soul – glee club. Kurt would need all these activities to get out of this town (yes, even the damn football), and every day he hoped it wouldn't kill him before that happened. It got even worse when he realized that every single one of his friends had dated someone during the past year, at least for a few days, and Kurt was still alone.

_Someone who's been checking you out._

Snorting in disbelief at the idea that after all this time, someone would be interested in him, Kurt replied: _Mercedes, quit being a bitch. Whose phone are you using?_

_Who's Mercedes?_

After half a second, while Kurt was trying to come up with a reply, the mystery texter wrote: _Oh, the black chick, Aretha. I remember now. And no, I'm not her._

Wondering how long Mercedes was going to keep up the act, Kurt wrote back: _Then who are you?_

_I'm your secret admirer, baby!_

It had to be a prank. It was statistics, really. Only about two percent of the population was like him. That meant that at best, there were three or four other gay guys in his class. Maybe only ten or fifteen of them in the entire school. Everyone else got a couple hundred people to choose from. And he didn't see any of the guys that statistics said should be there coming out or even talking to him that way (in person), because they were too confused or too scared. Too scared of their parents, too scared of God, or even too scared of those bullying jock bastards. No, Kurt had to wait for love until he got out of Lima. He'd go to New York or LA, or hell, he'd even settle for Chicago. He'd go somewhere far away where people would understand him and welcome him and his many talents with open arms. But it wasn't going to happen now.

Even though he knew this was a prank, Kurt's heart fluttered in his chest. Nothing was going to come of this, ever, but he could play along and have some fun with it, right? _If you really are my secret admirer, what do you like best about me?_

_The way you blush_, was the almost instantaneous reply.

Kurt giggled to himself, moving to his bed and settling back on his pillows as he typed out the reply: _The way I blush! For Dior's sake, that's a ridiculous line._

_I don't care if you think it's stupid. Every time you blush, it makes me want to press my lips to your skin to taste if it's as hot as it looks._

Holy Red Bull! Kurt shot back to sitting up straight and furiously typed: _Who is this, really? _His hands had begun trembling out of ... excitement? ... fear? ... even though he knew it was a joke. It had to be.

_If I told you, I wouldn't be your secret admirer, now would I?_

Kurt supposed that was true, but it did nothing to alleviate his fears. No, he needed to call this prankster out. _Will you tell me anything about yourself?_

_I go to your school._

_Anything else?_

_I'm a guy, so you don't have to worry I'm another Aretha wanting to be your beard._

A guy? No, Kurt told himself. It's not true. It's one of my girlfriends messing with me. Well, two could play at that game. He'd play along and ask as many questions as he could, until she fucked up and he could catch her in the lie. He decided to start simple: _What do you look like? _

_If I told you_, Kurt's texting partner wrote, _you'd figure it out. You're too smart._

_Thanks for the flattery, but if I'm going to keep talking to you, I have to know you're worth my time. So? In general, what do you look like?_

_Fine, I'll tell you! I'm not too tall, not too beefy, though my guns are awesome, and I have pouty lips that dream about being able to kiss yours. _

Hmm. Pretty average, but probably meant to be a jock, because those were the only guys that talked about having guns instead of arms. And Kurt couldn't ignore the crazy beating of his heart at the thought that someone, even a fictional someone, might want to kiss him.

_What's your favorite color?_

_Black._

Oh, great. Just the lack of taste he was looking for in a boyfriend! Snorting again and thinking maybe it was Tina and Artie messing with him, Kurt wrote: _Favorite musical group?_

_Def Leppard._

Well, that was weird. Who in their right mind would think of an eighties hair band so quickly? He had to know if this was for real, and how far his admirer was willing to take the joke, so he went for broke and asked: _What does your dick look like?_

_Big_, the texter wrote back, _long, straight, and hard as steel just for you._

Okay, this had to be a joke, despite the way Kurt's privates stirred at those last few words. _Please... that's the best you could come up with?_

_Want more, huh?_

_Sure, tell me more about this alleged manhood of yours_. Standing up, Kurt trotted up the stairs to the basement door and quietly locked it. It didn't matter that one of his friends was messing with him, he did not want his dad to walk in to find him drooling over his phone and sexting with a stranger.

_Nothing alleged about it, Hummel!_

Kurt wondered if he'd finally managed to ruffle the person on the other end as he gracefully returned to his bed. But then his phone chimed again, and Kurt saw that his mystery texter had sent him a picture, which was unnamed except for a default number. With a shrug, Kurt opened it, only to be surprised by a full-color close up of somebody's dick. It was long and straight and erect-looking, circumcised, but it had to be a joke, didn't it? Mouth going dry, Kurt hastily typed out: _Nice. Didn't take you long to pull that off the Internet._

_No, that's mine. I swear to God, it is._

Knowing he was only setting himself up for more trouble, but almost needing to see how far this would go, Kurt wrote: _Prove it._

_Okay. I've got a sharpie. Give me any word you want and I'll write it on there for you._

_Don't mutilate yourself! Write 'tumescent' on your hand or a piece of paper or something and put that in the picture, too._

_What does that word mean?_

_Look it up, lame-brain_, Kurt replied. _Are you going to do it or not?_

One minute and twenty-eight seconds later, another picture arrived at Kurt's phone and he started downloading it. Holy fucking hell! He'd done it! This guy had written 'tumescent' on his hand and wrapped it around that same dick! He couldn't really tell much more about the guy, except that his skin was a little dark, tanned maybe, and his hands were almost as beautiful as his cock.

Getting hot under the collar, Kurt wrote back: _I'm blushing_.

_Shit! Really? That's so fucking hot, Kurt._

_If you say so._

_I do say so, Hummel. God. I'm thinking about those totally awesome lips of yours and stroking myself._

Almost without thinking, Kurt unbuttoned the fly of his skinny jeans and let his hand stroke downward over the bulge in his underwear. Asking the first thing he could think of, Kurt wrote: _Boxers or briefs?_

_Commando, usually. You?_

_Usually briefs. Tell me what else you like about me._

_Your hair always looks so soft and perfect, I want to bury my face in it. And your hands are so small and delicate, without being girly. I bet they're actually pretty strong, huh?_

_I did grow up in a mechanic's garage. And I play piano._

_Wish it was you touching me, Kurt._

Oh, Christ! Kurt was getting hard, stroking himself and reading what this mystery guy had to say. But mysteries and fantasies only got you so far, as Kurt was well aware of, so he wrote: _If you told me who you were, maybe it could be me._

_Shit, Hummel. Way to ruin a jerk-off for me! I can't tell you who I am. You hate me in real life._

_Why do I hate you?_

_I'm popular and I can't think you're hot, but I do. I fucking do and it's driving me crazy. I've been an asshole to you and now I'm insane over all this._

_So you've resorted to being my secret sexting admirer?_

_Exactly. Man, I'm such a loser_

Kurt sat in silence for a few minutes, his cock out and hard, but his hands ghosting over his phone as he tried to figure out how to respond. This guy seemed pretty sincere, sending him both those pictures, which were absolutely drool-worthy. It seemed mean to brush him off, this first guy who had ever expressed any interest in him. It seemed like a missed opportunity, given the statistics. So, Kurt decided as a sort of peace offering, to send a picture of his own.

Taking a deep breath, he switched over to his phone's camera, made sure there was nothing incriminating in the shot, and took a picture. After double checking it, Kurt sent the picture, along with the message: _If this is ever seen by eyes other than yours, I will deny having taken it and I will find you and kill you. Do you understand?_

_Oh fuck! Thank you! This is so awesome!_

_I'm okay with being secret for now, as long as you tell me what you'd do if you were here with me._

_Kurt! I'd kiss your brains out, starting nice and slow before tonguing your lips apart and tasting every inch of your mouth. _

_Yeah?_

_You'd be rock hard before I even pressed all of me against you and I'd shiver when I felt your beautiful cock against my leg as I rubbed my thigh between yours._

Kurt's breath came in short little gasps as he read these things, allowing one hand to creep back downward to grab his cock. Stumbling to type with one hand, Kurt wrote back:_ I'm so hard for you, and I don't even know what to call you._

_Just call me baby, Kurt. Please._

_Ok. What would you do next, baby?_

_I'd take off your shirt, so freaking slowly._

Kurt scrambled to take off his shirt, undoing all the buttons with sweaty, trembling fingers. This wasn't what he wanted his first experience with another guy to be, but damn if it wasn't so hot he couldn't force himself to stop! When that was done and he'd laid out his shirt near the foot of his bed, Kurt picked up his phone, about to tell 'Baby' what he'd just done.

But there was another message waiting for him. It said: _Shit! My mom and sister are home! I'm supposed to be grounded from texting today. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. Keep thinking of me!_

Well, shit! Half of Kurt wanted to believe his new friend, and half of him wanted to scream and think the worst, that this guy had been playing a prank the whole time. Kurt deeply regretted sending that picture. What had he been thinking? With his luck, everything about the conversation had been utter lies and that picture of his dick would be all over Jacob Ben Israel's blog by the time school started in the morning.

At least he still had the pictures Baby had sent, even if they didn't really belong to someone who wanted him back. Opening the first one, Kurt let himself fall into the fantasy so he could quell his hormones and drain his aching balls.

After his body had calmed down, and he'd gone halfway through his nightly skin care regimen, Kurt came to the conclusion that if this guy was for real, there might be a way to leverage him into a legitimate relationship. Kurt Hummel would not put up with a closet case for very long. No, he was so much better than that. Kurt decided to give it a month. If he couldn't get this guy out of the closet in a month, it was over. No matter how good Baby was at sexting.

* * *

Noah Puckerman had lost his mind. That was the only explanation for the obsession that had taken over his every waking thought since the end of summer, when Finn had forced him into going to Rachel's glee-club pool party. Puck had never accepted the job to clean the Berrys' pool for a reason that could be summed up in three words, "Two gay dads." Not his thing. Puck was all about the cheerleaders and the MILFs, not letting Rachel Berry's gay days ogle him while he worked.

So he'd never seen Rachel's back yard before, and the pool was impressive. It was an above-ground, but had an elaborate deck built all the way around the pool, with a hot tub embedded in one corner. You had to climb the steps to get up to the deck, which meant Puck and Finn were recruited more often than not to get Artie up there and then around from the pool to the hot tub and back again. Everything was going fine, since Finn was keeping Rachel's mouth busy with his lips, that Artie guy was actually pretty funny to talk to, and Brittany and Santana kept making out in the corner of the hot tub, in their bikinis. Earlier in the evening, Puck asked them if they wanted any help, and had just barely avoided taking Santana's foot to his groin. But he was okay watching, goofing off with Finn and Matt, talking to Artie and Quinn and generally just enjoying the party.

Until Kurt and Mercedes showed up. Puck didn't know what it was, but something about how the boy sauntered and danced to the music across the deck and toward the hot tub in a close-fitting pair of swim trunks and nothing else made Puck snap. And certain body parts began to stand at attention even more than they had been when he was watching the two girls make out. To distract himself, Puck punched Finn in the arm, saying, "Breath holding contest in the pool. Fifty bucks."

"You're on, Puckerman!" Finn cried, scrambling out of the hot tub and diving into the pool. Puck followed quickly in the wake of Finn's commotion, in the hopes that no one would notice how his eyes didn't want to leave Kurt's chest. The cold pool water shocked his body into settling down and his competitive need to win the bet he'd made with Finn took his mind off of Kurt just long enough to win fifty bucks. The urge to drown himself because of his reaction to Kurt's almost nakedness probably helped him win that bet, too.

When he got home that night, Puck wanted to call Quinn, but he couldn't. The blonde knew that he loved her, but had said just a week after Beth was born that their time had passed and she needed to be by herself for awhile, or some girly shit like that. It had hurt, but Puck had known it wouldn't work out in the end. And, there was that god awful memory of seeing Quinn's lady parts stretched around a baby's head. Fucking nasty, in a wholesome, miracle-of-life sort of way.

So, to get the memory of Kurt out of his head, Puck called his sometimes-girlfriend from the school across town, Jenna, to ask if she wanted to be back on again. She agreed and twenty minutes later, he was crawling through her bedroom window so he could fuck the crap out of her and remind himself how entirely straight he was. It was nice, like always, and he got off, but when Jenna's dad found him in her bed the next morning and threatened to go get his shotgun, Puck knew that their relationship wasn't long for this world either.

He tried chasing new tail when the school year started, but as a glee freak, it just wasn't as easy as it had been before. So much for being a sex shark. _And _he kept having to see Kurt every single day. When it wasn't in class, or at practice, it was during the weekends when he went to go spend time with Finn, his almost-again-best-friend. Because now Kurt and Finn did live in the same house, but thankfully not in the same room anymore, since their parents had come to their senses.

After a few insane dreams about Kurt and stumbling onto some enlightening Internet porn, Puck decided that he'd caught a mild case of gayness and was now bi. Or at least that's what he told himself to escape the truth that he'd probably always been bi. And that little gay guy was always flaunting it in his face every single day!

Puck had class with Kurt and Finn first thing in the morning this year, which meant that if he wanted to keep on good terms with Finn, he had to sit near Kurt, usually right behind him.

_You make it hard to breathe  
It's as if I suffocated  
And when you're next to me  
I can feel your heart beat through your skin._

Coach had convinced Kurt to come back to the football team and so he was always around, naked in the showers after every practice, dancing like that during every glee rehearsal.

_It makes me sad to think  
This could all be for nothing.  
I wish there would be a way  
A way for you to see inside me._

_I've never felt this way  
About anyone  
Or anything  
Tell me what do I have to do?_

_To make you want me._

After six weeks, Puck just couldn't take it anymore. When Finn wasn't looking one day, Puck swiped his phone and copied over Kurt's cell number, just so he could have it. Puck fantasized about calling the other boy up and declaring his feelings, or telling Kurt what he wanted to do to him, anyway, but the horrible consequences he imagined always discouraged him from going through with it.

He tried to date a sophomore chick, Olivia (who actually looked a little like Kurt, he was such a sicko) but Puck had pushed her too fast and gotten slugged when he tried to go down on her. He'd gone for it just to remind himself that even though he'd been dreaming about Kurt, he still liked girls. He did, but not the ones who gave him a black eye that lasted for three days. At least Olivia was too embarrassed to take credit for the bruise, so Puck could make up a story about being in a badass fight with some other dudes.

Kurt didn't seem impressed in the locker room, calling him a violent gorilla with impulse control issues. "You have no idea, Hummel," he'd replied softly, trying to make his voice sound threatening, and not seductive. At least that was one skill Puck could fall back on like reflex – intimidation.

_I know exactly what you're thinking,  
But I swear this time I will not let you down.  
I'm not as selfish as I used to be.  
That was a part of me that never made me proud._

Staring at Kurt's number in his phone, Puck fantasized about how things could play out if he would just call. Or he wouldn't even have to call. He could text. Fantasies turned into plans and one night, while his mom and sister went out to dinner with a guy Puck refused to be around, he found his fingers texting of their own accord. It didn't seem to matter to them that since mouthing off about his mom's new boyfriend, he'd been banned from making calls or sending texts that weren't strictly about school work. It didn't matter that he couldn't be sure when they'd get home. All that mattered was that he was horny as hell and all he could think about was finding out what exactly Kurt hid under those swim trunks at the party and behind that towel in the locker room.

_Right now I think I would try anything  
Anything at all to keep you satisfied._

_What do I have to do,  
To make you happy?  
What do I have to do  
To make you understand?_

Puck typed out: _Hey, Kurt? This your number?_ and got so lightheaded after he hit, 'Send' that he had to lie down.

The entire conversation was one long emotional roller coaster, topped off with the mood-killing arrival of family members returning home and checking up to see that he had fallen asleep doing his homework. Wasn't that adorable? Only after his mom had left him to sleep in peace did Puck realize that he still had a word written on his hand. A word that a quick search told him was very descriptive of the dirty pictures he'd sent Kurt. "That little shit!" Puck exclaimed with a fond smile. At least Kurt had balls. Puck had to give him that. After a little scrubbing during his morning shower, the scribble on Puck's hand grew illegible, thank God, and he went to school for another day of torture.

_What do I have to do to make you want me?_

* * *

_Song used: _What do I have to do _by Stabbing Westward_

_**Please review**! How have I done getting the two characters' voices across? Do you like the premise? Any guesses for how the story is going to go? Did you like seeing Kurt's point of view before Puck's? Do you have any song requests? Any comments, questions, or criticisms are appreciated._


	2. Kurt's Search

_A/N: Thank you so much for the great response to this story! I loved getting all those reviews on just the first chapter! I hope to see that trend continue! _

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**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 2 – Kurt's Search

Kurt barely slept a wink, since he kept reading those texts over and over again, so by the time his alarm clock rang in the morning his mouth was dry and bitter, his eyes were crusted over, and he had a hell of a job getting presentable before he had to leave for class. It did not help that now that Kurt _knew_ he had a secret admirer at school, he wanted to look his very best. His outfit had to be perfect. Those tight, dark plaid pants with the Gestapo boots, definitely. And a white dress shirt, a vest that contrasted with and yet matched the pants. Black tie. Grey fedora. _Gallons_ of under-eye concealer. And so much hairspray that there was no way the hat would ruin his carefully arranged coif.

"Hey, Kurt," Mercedes smiled when she saw him as he approached his locker (thankfully without being dumped in the trash today). "You're lookin' fii-iine, baby boy."

"Thank you, Mercedes," Kurt nodded with a smile. "I'm feeling extra fabulous today."

"How come?" she asked, bumping her shoulder against his as they walked to class.

Before Kurt could answer, he got a new text from his secret admirer: _Damn, Kurt! Those pants do your ass and your junk worlds of justice. Did you wear them for me?_

_You'll never know, _Kurt wrote back with a stupid smile that Mercedes noticed, raising an eyebrow at him in question. Rolling his eyes, Kurt whispered in his best friend's ear, "I have a secret admirer."

"For real?" she asked as they sat down in class, waiting for Kurt's nod as the bell rang. "I am so jealous!"

"Alright everyone, eyes up front!" the teacher cried, her eyes especially on Kurt when he opened his mouth to respond to Mercedes. Choosing the better part of valor, Kurt snapped his mouth closed and tried to listen to the lecture, but instead he found his gaze traveling around the room, trying to figure out if any of these boys were the one who had contacted him the night before. He decided this whole 'secret admirer' business was going to drive him crazy before lunch.

_It's bugging me, grating me  
And twisting me around.  
Yeah I'm endlessly cavin' in  
And turning inside out._

Who could he be? This boy who thought Kurt was attractive? This boy who offered Kurt a glimpse at what he wanted – a real love life – but couldn't quite give it to him yet? It was infuriating. How could Baby do this to him? Getting his hopes up? Teasing him like this? It was a dream _almost_ come true. If only he could do a little detective work and figure out who this guy was.

'_Cause I want it now,  
I want it now!  
Give me your heart and your soul.  
And I'm breaking out,  
I'm breaking out.  
Last chance to lose control._

Most kids got to have at least one high school romance before heading off to college, and Kurt figured he would never get to be one of those kids. Really, high school was the perfect chance to get that first – possibly disastrous – romance over with, because no matter how it went, he would be leaving this town soon. It was the last chance to figure out what he wanted before he got to college and everyone would expect him to have all that stuff figured out, along with his fashion sense, rapier wit, and well trained musical ear.

_Yeah, it's holding me, morphing me,  
and forcing me to strive.  
To be endlessly cold within  
and dreaming I'm alive._

Pining after Finn Hudson had worked out horribly and so over the summer, Kurt had told himself romance didn't matter. He'd walled off his heart, saving it for a time when he could truly let someone who wanted him in. Kurt never thought that it would or even _could_ happen so soon. He never figured he would actually have a life in high school.

And now, maybe he did.

* * *

Third period was choir, which Kurt and Mercedes walked to together, like always. He had just enough time between classes to explain to his best friend that he wanted to keep this whole secret admirer thing to himself, "Since there's a very good probability that someone at this school is just fucking with me. I don't want to go on and on about having someone special if it's just going to blow up in my face tomorrow."

"I get that," Mercedes nodded. "You don't need to give the Pucks and Karofskys of this school more ammo."

"Puck hasn't been bad lately," Kurt pointed out, thinking about the several times that year he and Finn had gotten the jocks to lay off of Kurt in the locker room. "Not since you went out with him. You tamed that boy!"

"I think," Mercedes said with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder for a second as they walked through the choir room door, "that having the baby had a lot more to do with it."

"Alright, everyone," Mr. Schuester called as he walked in behind Kurt and Mercedes, "take a seat!"

The shuffling settled down a little as the teacher closed the door and handed a piece of music to Brad, the piano player. "Sectionals are in a month, you guys. We have to really nail down in the next week what songs we're doing so we can get the choreography perfect. You guys have got the vocals, and now it's about the presentation. Presentation killed us at Regionals last year, and we're not going to let that happen again, right?"

"Right, Mr. Schue!" Rachel spoke in a chipper voice from her seat in the front row, clutching Finn's hand in her lap like he would try to get away or something. Kurt and Mercedes rolled their eyes at each other. Everyone had lost the pool for how long Finn and Rachel were going to be together this time. Even Tina, who had guessed two months, had been wrong, since they were at four months and counting. Kurt had bet on nineteen days, but alas, had lost his five bucks to the house – aka, Santana.

"We don't know yet who we're competing against," Mr. Schue insisted, "but I have a feeling that we had some admirers on the Show Choir governing board that they're going to set us up with some stiffer competition this year. Plus, I'm about ninety percent sure that Coach Sylvester has something on the president of the board." The teacher rolled his eyes and Kurt thanked his lucky stars again that he'd chosen football over cheerleading.

For one, it gave him a more rounded extra-curricular résumé. And for two, it got him away from that witch of a cheerleading coach who, "still wasn't quite sure," about him and thought that he had hips like a pear. It was ridiculous. He had perfectly good boy hips, and he was proud of them. Kurt worshipped the fact that being on the football team automatically disqualified him for the Cheerios, because he couldn't very well change into and out of full pads whenever he was needed to kick a field goal.

Mr. Schuester then handed out parts for a new song (Kurt got the alto part, _again_), and told them to study up for a minute while he ran Puck through the accompaniment on the guitar. The jazz band had the whole week off while they practiced for their own invitational, so the glee club pretty much just had Brad, Puck, Artie, and Finn to fill in. Sitting behind the boy as Puck began to strum, Kurt saw a dark smudge on Puck's left hand as he curled it around the neck of his guitar. It didn't say anything intelligible, but it was just the right length and shape to spell out, 'tumescent' if you stared hard enough and tilted your head.

No fucking way! It couldn't be!

Kurt gasped and choked, unable to sing after inhaling his own spit. The others noticed his coughing right away and Puck looked back at him, one curious eyebrow raised. When their eyes met, Puck's a cold hazel and Kurt's watering blue, the jock gave no indication he knew why Kurt might be in such distress. Instead, he mumbled, "You alright, dude?" his voice lost amid the others as people rushed to Kurt's aid, patting him on the back until he stopped choking.

With a concerned look on his face, Mr. Schue said, "Rachel? Would you help Kurt to the drinking fountain?"

"Of course," Rachel smiled brightly. "You're absolutely right in assuming I need very little help singing this song perfectly."

"Great," the teacher said with an exasperated little sigh as Rachel grabbed Kurt and manhandled him out of the room.

Once they were outside, Rachel demanded, "You aren't getting sick, are you? Sectionals are going to be much more difficult this year, I'm sure of it, and we need all our singers in top shape. If you want, I can have my therapist write you a prescription for a heroic dose of antibiotics?"

"No, Rach," Kurt sighed, clearing his throat again before taking a sip of water from the fountain. "I just choked when I realized how ghastly you're dressed today," he sneered at her sweater vest, which had a pink Scottie dog silhouette on each breast.

"There's no need to get snippy!" the diva shot back. "We worked really hard over the summer to bury the hatchet now that I'm dating Finn. I want to be your friend, Kurt, and I really wanted to know if you're okay. You went sort of paler than normal."

Trying to brush his way past her, Kurt said, "Thank you for your concern, but I am fine." _Even though I found out my secret admirer sext buddy is pure evil._

"What?" Rachel asked, leaning in closer as she looked up at him. "Did you just say something about a sext buddy? And an evil secret admirer?"

"No!" Kurt insisted, suddenly panicking. How had those thoughts passed the filter to his mouth? "Nothing!"

"Spill," she ordered. "As your friend and teammate, I have to know if something between you and one of the other glee club members is going to go screwy! Sectionals are just too close for anything to ruin our chances now. Is it the new kid?"

"I wish," Kurt scoffed, rolling his eyes when he thought about the sophomore football player who had joined Glee this year. "But no."

"Who?" Rachel asked again, pushing him away from the door, surprisingly strong for someone so little. "I'm not letting you back into rehearsal until you tell me."

"You're, like, the worst secret keeper ever to live, Berry," Kurt complained, trying once more to get around the girl. "You're the opposite of Fort Knox! A total trout mouth! Remember what happened with Finn and Quinn last time you blabbed?"

"You have to talk to _someone_!" she insisted. "My therapist always says secrets poison the soul!"

"I gave myself a month to keep this thing secret," Kurt remembered, and now that he knew who 'Baby' was, wondered if he still wanted to go through with it. "To get him to admit it in public."

"I'll help you," the girl suggested, frowning when Kurt widened his eyes in surprise and shook his head vehemently. "You're Finn's almost-step-brother now, Kurt. I want to help you. I want to show everyone I can be a good teammate and a good friend. A good _person_, despite my ambition."

Watching how sincere her expression became, Kurt couldn't help but find himself nodding and accepting her offer. Rachel squealed in delight and hugged him, which was unpleasant, before demanding again, "Who are we convincing?"

"This probably isn't going to work," Kurt murmured in her ear, "but I'm almost a hundred percent sure my secret admirer is Noah Puckerman."

"Oh, wow!" Rachel hissed, quickly scampering over to peer through the window in the choir-room door. Kurt hurried up next to her, trying to calm the beating of his heart as he looked into the room. Puck sat on one of the chairs, strumming along, eyes half on Mr. Schue, half on the sheet music sitting in front of him. His face and arms were like something out of a wet dream, and Kurt wondered why he never noticed it before. "He seems so straight! Are you sure?"

"Pretty damn sure," Kurt replied, seeing the smudge on Puck's hand again when the guitarist stopped playing and scratched his forehead. "If he _is_ the admirer, he just started texting me out of the blue last night."

"Oh!" she cried, pulling a cell phone from somewhere on her person – Kurt couldn't imagine where, since neither her vest nor her short skirt appeared to have pockets. "I still have his number from when we dated very briefly. We should compare the numbers to make sure they're the same."

Kurt nodded and scrolled through his contact list to the entry he'd marked with a 'B' for Baby. He and Rachel compared their phones, both of them realizing, "It's the same number."

"Okay," Rachel said determinedly, her hands expressively pointed palms-down at her sides. "Since he's so sensitive about his jock status, you can't tell him you know who he is. Not right away. Can I see what he wrote you?"

"No!" Kurt cried, clutching his phone to his chest in sudden fear as she reached out to grab it. "It's personal!"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, jerking back. "Right! Sorry!"

"So I keep playing along for now?"

Rachel nodded, "As long as you still want this 'sext buddy' relationship now that you know who your admirer is..."

Looking back through the window, watching Puck strum his guitar and sing out a harmony to Finn's leading man bari-tenor, his suddenly-beautiful face looking pained with the emotion of the lyrics, Kurt realized that, "Yes. I still want this."

"Steel yourself, Kurt Hummel," Rachel murmured in his ear, "for the acting role of a lifetime."

And people called Kurt a Drama Queen!

* * *

In choir the day after Puck lost his mind, he thought maybe Kurt had figured out who his secret admirer was when he started choking. But after the boy returned to the classroom and never once treated him any differently than he had in the past, Puck decided he was still safe. Though he couldn't keep his fingers from itching to send another text, another little clue that would bring him and Kurt together like Puck dreamt about over and over again during school that day. And then during rehearsal. And then during football. And then in the showers…

Sitting in his car, watching Kurt drive away after football practice, Puck texted the boy again, saying: _I've been thinking about you all day._

_Hng n. Drvng_. was Kurt's first response. The next one came a minute later: _OK. Pulled over._

_Alone?_

_Yeah. You?_

_Yeah. _Puck sighed. Despite texting with Kurt, he really was alone, wasn't he?

_I want to know more about you._

Gasping a little in panic, Puck forced himself to swallow and respond: _Like what?_

_As you probably know, I'm very musically inclined. Are you?_

_Play guitar_, Puck mentioned. _But I can't sing_. That should throw him off track. Keep Kurt from figuring out who he was until well after graduation. Yeah, that sounded reasonable.

_So you're not in Glee Club?_

_No._

_Oh, well. I'll figure you out someday, baby._

Use of that name made Puck shiver in delight, imagining Kurt whispering it to him like a real lover.

_Do you like school? _Kurt asked him_._

_Only woodshop and gym._

_A meathead, huh?_

Somewhat put off by Kurt's stereotyping of him, Puck continued: _And English. I don't do well, because most of the time, I think school is for suckers, but I like some of the stuff the teacher makes us read._

_You're a secret romantic, aren't you?_

Sitting in the cab of his truck, alone and blushing, Puck replied: _So?_

_No, baby. It's a good thing! Despite how hot and heavy we got started last night, I love romance._

Chuckling, Puck sighed and said: _I guess I am your secret admirer. It only makes sense I'm a secret romantic, too._

_So this isn't just about sex?_

_It's whatever you want it to be, Kurt._ Puck replied with another sigh. _Except public._

_We'll work on that, baby. _

Smiling at what he imagined would be the confidence in Kurt's voice if he had said that out loud, Puck wrote: _I have to go now. I'll text you again tonight when the coast is clear._

_K. Bye._

Puck had definitely gone insane.

* * *

After dinner, when both his mom and his sister were asleep, Puck got undressed and laid in bed, opening the picture Kurt had sent him for only the second time since he'd received it the night before. He still couldn't believe it had happened. It felt like a dream, but when he opened that picture it became so real again that all his blood rushed south. Puck only hoped that this picture wasn't a fake like Kurt had accused him of sending.

Further proving the theory that he was, in fact, insane, Puck texted Kurt again: _I'm sitting here, looking at this picture you sent me, hard as rocks, and wondering what your cock tastes like._

Puck waited for what seemed like hours before he got a response: _OMG! I was watching TV with my dad when you sent that!_

_How much did you blush?_

_I thought I was going to die!_

Puck laughed to himself, covering his mouth with one hand to stifle the noise. _You're so cute and innocent! I really like that about you, Kurt._

_Don't make me sing Britney at you, baby!_

_What?_

_Her coming of age classic, Oops…I Did It Again. I could rock your pants off with that song. "I'm not that innocent…"_

_You could rock my pants off with Mary Had A Little Lamb_, Puck replied, and he could feel the stupid grin spreading across his face.

What had happened to him? He was _Puck_, Puckzilla, Puckasaurus, the badass future rock star, and he was trading sexy quips with the most flamboyantly gay boy he'd ever met. Even if he was bi, shouldn't Puck be more into manly guys? Wouldn't that make more sense? Or was Kurt's high voice and round ass tricking Puck into thinking he was bi? Pulling up that picture Kurt had sent him, Puck decided, no. He really needed to get his hands on that cock.

_Baby, you're sweet. _Kurt replied._ I really want to kiss you. Can you at least describe what your face looks like, so I can imagine it?_

_My face is awesome_, Puck replied, not willing to say any more than that. _But not pretty like yours._

_I'm going to have to imagine someone else's face when you write about kissing me, then._

_Like who? That Finn guy you're always staring at?_ Shit, that had probably given away too much. And now Puck was jealous. He wanted Kurt thinking about _his _face, or at least his _junk_, since he wasn't ready to reveal his identity yet. Not thinking about freaking Finn Hudson's face!

_No, silly. Finn's like my brother now. Besides, I could never crush on someone who would have the grievous lack of taste needed to fall in love with Rachel Berry._

Puck buried his laughter in his arm again, writing back_: Lol, dude. Thanks, I needed that. _Still curious, he asked:_ So whose face do you think about?_

_I know it sounds crazy_, Kurt wrote, _but lately I've thought Noah Puckerman is really cute, in a juvie-criminal sort of way. Do you know him?_

Both steaming at the insult and crowing at the fact the Kurt was attracted to the real him, Puck found his hands shaking as he typed back: _Yeah, I know him. Isn't he super-straight?_

_Ha, ha! Yeah! I have no chance with him, baby. But if you don't let me know what you look like, I'll have to imagine you look like him._

_Surprisingly, I'm okay with that._

_If you say so, baby!_

God, what was Puck doing? Being Kurt's secret admirer when he knew Kurt wanted the real him? Or, wanted his body, anyway. Maybe this time, he wanted someone to want him for more than his looks or his mad skills in bed. Maybe he wanted someone who would listen to the real him, before they found out what he looked like. Maybe that was especially important with Kurt.

What the hell? He was Puck! He should be getting whatever he wanted, from whoever he wanted and damn the consequences. Too bad he still feared ending up as miserable and looked down upon as the loser geeks at McKinley high always appeared to be. Maybe in a few months, the real Puck would be back and this whole thing with Kurt could be just a weird memory of youthful experimentation.

What a fucking cop-out that sounded like!

Unable to just leave the conversation at that, Puck wrote, _What are you doing right now?_

_Avoiding my homework. You?_

_Same. Wishing I was man enough to tell you who I am._

_I'm wishing that too!_ Kurt wrote, and Puck felt even worse about himself until Kurt followed up by saying, _But I can wait for a little while. Until you trust me enough to say it._

_What if I'm not the trusting type?_ Puck wrote, thinking about his dad and his mom's bad taste in men and even Quinn. _What if I've only ever been burned by the people I care about?_

It took a long time for Kurt to respond, so much so that Puck had actually given up and started doing some of his homework in the hopes that it would bore him to sleep. But then, his phone rumbled and Kurt's message said: _If we give up on trusting people, we give up on love, baby. Could you try to trust me?_

Feeling like he'd been socked in the gut and told he'd won the lottery at the same time, Puck let an uneasy smile onto his face. This wasn't just about sex for either of them, was it?

_I'll try._

* * *

_Song used: "Hysteria" by Muse_

_So, what did you think? Props to one reviewer for guessing how Puck's identity would be revealed! Any guesses for where the story's going to go from here? Please don't forget to review!_


	3. Monster

_A/N: Ta-dah! Another chapter! I was out of town without my laptop when I posted Chapter 2, so I couldn't keep track of whose reviews I replied to or not. Rest assured, I loved getting every single review._

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 3 - Monster

Kurt hadn't expected it, but the second night after that first, horrendously humiliating text, Puck hadn't brought up sex again. Instead they'd talked about other things, things that seemed so far out of range for the boy Kurt thought he knew that he half convinced himself Puck was just texting him for a lark, making up whatever answers he thought Kurt would want to hear, only to crush him later. What convinced Kurt otherwise was the long pause between when he said he thought Puck was hot and when the other boy responded, Puck's confession about not trusting people, and his promise to try to trust Kurt.

Kurt had thought about messing with Puck's head a little, now that he knew who his admirer was. However, more than that urge to torment his former bully, he couldn't stand the thought of betraying Puck's trust the way the boy felt everyone else had. Kurt wanted to keep learning things about Puck and getting to know him. Maybe then it would be easier to convince him to trust Kurt and get him into a public relationship. Or at least a relationship where he would tell Kurt who he really was.

And in the meantime, he'd get a real, if distant, relationship with a boy. Something was better than nothing, right?

Over the next few days, Kurt wanted to watch Puck, to catch him looking, but Rachel said that would be a bad idea. "Instead," the girl directed, "you try not to look at him, and I'll watch what he does instead."

"Won't Finn get mad if you start stalking Puck all the time?" Kurt asked her in a harsh whisper as they walked from History class to lunch. "Jealous?"

"I already explained to Finn that I'm worried Puck has been cheating off other students' papers, and that if he gets caught, he'll get kicked out of glee and football. I'm going to keep an eye out to make sure he's not getting himself in trouble, like any good friend and teammate would."

"Rachel Berry," Kurt smiled, linking his arm with hers, "you are an evil genius."

"I know," she shrugged, squeezing his arm before letting go and hurrying the last few steps to meet Finn. Most of the glee club was already at their usual lunch table, including Puck, who sat as far away as possible from Kurt. Before he had started talking with the boy by text, he would have said Puck was sitting so far away because he couldn't stand Kurt. Now he thought it might be because the jock didn't want to do something on accident that might give him away as not-quite-straight.

That night, and for the next few over the weekend, Kurt texted first, so he could set the tone of the conversation. He felt a little weird really getting into the sexts Puck sent while knowing so little about th jock. To that end, Kurt asked, _Did you go to that assembly today? _and _What kinds of movies do you like? _and _What's your biggest dream?_

Puck wrote back_: Hell no. Assemblies are for suckers and asshats._ And, _Anything with explosions_. And, _Either become a rock star, or have a threesome._

Kurt found Puck's answers oddly truthful and endearing. More than once, his father asked him what he was laughing at, to which Kurt only replied, "Nothing, Dad!"

On Sunday night, pulling Kurt away from a movie he, Mercedes, and Quinn were watching together, he and Puck had a deeper conversation when the jock starting off by saying: _I hate the motherfucker who's dating my mom. He's such an unbelievable asshole._

Wow. This was really real, wasn't it? Without hearing his voice, it was hard to tell, but Kurt knew that Puck must be hurting about something, so he asked, _What did he do?_

_Thinks he's the fucking cock-of-the-walk around here? I'm the man of the house. I have been for ten fucking years and he thinks he can come into my house and tell me what to do?_

_Calm down, baby_, Kurt wrote, afraid that Puck's violent side was going to have an episode all over some unlucky piece of public property. Or all over this new guy's face. Kurt couldn't very well get Puck to be his real boyfriend if he was in jail, could he? _Just tell me what happened. _

_He doesn't even live here, and he's telling me to do shit like pick up my room and mow the lawn and wash his damn car! And does my mom tell him he's out of line? No! She just thinks he's about the smartest dude ever because he can afford a fucking Audi. I should key that fucking car, is what I should do._

_Hey!_ Kurt replied as forcefully as he could by text. _I'm all for having a badass boyfriend. But how are you supposed to ask me to bail you out without giving me your real name? And, besides, you don't have to prove anything to him. I asked you to trust me. Prove that I can trust you, too._

Puck's response was a long time coming, but eventually he wrote: _You can trust me, Kurt. I won't kill the bastard, or key his car. If you say it's a bad idea._

_It is_, Kurt wrote, heaving a big sigh of relief. _Believe me, if I went off on everyone who told me what to do or who to be, I'd have been in jail a hundred times by now. If you want to be with me, you've got to learn to just let it roll off your back._

_Easy for you to say,_ Puck replied, and that was the last Kurt heard from him for the rest of the night.

Kurt worried about the other boy a lot as he was trying to get to sleep. Had Puck calmed down? Had he run away? Had he killed the guy auditioning for the part of his stepdad and was busy hiding the body? But in the morning, Puck texted, _Thanks for last night. You're a cool guy, Hummel. I really like you._

That morning, Monday morning, Kurt felt like he could have floated all the way to school. Not even Finn's dirty sports socks stinking up the back of his Navigator dulled Kurt's mood. When he got a text during English class that asked, _What color briefs are you wearing? _and Mercedes almost saw it, Kurt considered telling her what was going on. She knew he had a secret admirer that kept texting him, but she didn't know it was Puck. And Kurt was really starting to fall for the boy. He found he couldn't betray Puck like that. Not when he knew how protective Mercedes could get and how she would want to confront Puck before he was ready to be out in public. The jock would never talk to Kurt again after breaking his trust like that. And Kurt was getting used to their almost-constant conversations and flirtations. He didn't want to give Puck up until he had to.

So he just wrote back, _Blue_, as secretly as he could, smiling to himself when Puck replied, _Red would be hotter._

That night was the first time he and Puck got off together, saying things like, _I'm sucking you so hard you're going blind _in Puck's case and _Never stop kissing me and stroking me like that _in Kurt's case. It got more and more difficult to ignore Puck at school when Kurt could imagine those lips and that voice saying out loud all of the things Puck had written to him. Rachel had been right when she said this was the acting role of a lifetime.

About a week and a half after the sexts started, as Kurt unpacked his healthy, organic lunch at the table with the rest of the glee members, he watched Puck plop down at the end of the table, next to Finn. He looked unhappy and Kurt wondered if something else had happened with his mom's boyfriend. Knowing it was risky, but wanting to wipe that grumpy look off his admirer's face, Kurt unlocked his phone under the table and quickly sent a text to Puck: _Thinking of you, baby._

Kurt then had to work very hard not to watch Puck like a hawk as the jock pulled out his phone and checked the message. When he caught himself staring dreamily at Puck's expression, which softened into a slight smile as he responded, Kurt had to stomp on his own foot to keep from giving away how much he knew. Then, Kurt had to act surprised when his phone beeped, the text saying: _You look so cute picking at your food. I wish I could kiss you._

Knowing that he had to act for Puck's benefit, Kurt pretended to be even more surprised, craning his neck around to room to try to catch his secret sexting buddy. He let his eyes graze right past Puck, as if him being interested in Kurt was an impossibility. Up until Kurt saw that unmistakable smudge on Puck's hand, it had been. When Kurt noticed out of the corner of his eye Puck frowning at being dismissed out of hand, he announced, "I have to go to the little girl's room. Be right back," and scampered away.

Alone in the bathroom with his phone, Kurt wrote: _I wish I could kiss you, too. I bet you'd press me up against your locker and really make me feel it, wouldn't you, baby?_ He hoped a little sex would distract Puck from whatever was on his mind. What Kurt really wanted to do was hug the boy until he was happy, but this would have to do for now. Okay, and yes, he was getting kind of addicted to Puck's sexts, so his flirting wasn't entirely selfless.

_Hell yeah, I would!_ Puck wrote back. _And then I'd take my time kissing that long neck of yours, babe._

Kurt needed more than this. He needed to be able to go to class and glee rehearsal and football practice without having to act like Puck didn't exist outside the little jock-box he'd put himself in. He needed to kiss Puck's tasty-looking lips, instead of the tender crook of his own arm. So Kurt wrote: _God, this is fun! But it would be a lot better if we could just meet. I promise I wouldn't tell anyone. _ He would let Puck tell when he was ready, as long as it was within the next three weeks. Would Puck really be able to man up by then? Well, if he didn't, Kurt would move on. No matter what.

When the jock wrote back a few minutes later, he said: _Like I told you, Kurt. If you found out who I really am, you'd totally reject me, no questions asked. _

This was getting ridiculous. Kurt was sick of Puck not trusting him. He wanted a real relationship, not this sham. Kurt was sort of like Rachel in that he wanted things too much, but this was important. This was the first boy who might actually become his boyfriend if Puck could get over himself for two minutes and tell Kurt who he was.

So Kurt wrote back, _Give me a little credit! Even if you were someone like Karofsky, I would at least listen to you beg for my affection for a few minutes before passing judgment. I like our conversations a lot, and I want you to trust me with this. I don't have many other options, you know._

_So you're desperate for me? Sweet!_

Despite how angry he still was Kurt laughed to himself, imagining Puck's cocky victory dance. Clamping down on that emotion, Kurt wrote back: _I am. But I won't wait for much longer. As fun as this is, I can't just be a fantasy for you. I am a real person, you know._

_I know. _Puck wrote and that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Shit. He'd meant to cheer Puck up and get him into the relationship Kurt wanted and Puck seemed to need, but he'd only pissed him off even further. When Kurt got back to the lunch table, Puck was gone. Leaning to whisper in Rachel's ear, Kurt asked, "What happened?"

"Well," Rachel whispered back, dramatically shielding her words from the others with one theatrical hand, "he was ignoring all of us, smirking and texting away, with you I presume. And then all of a sudden he got agitated for a minute and then stormed off. He must have been watching all those times I did it in Glee, because he did an impressive job of it."

"Thanks, Rachel," Kurt replied with a grateful nod, despite the sinking feeling in his stomach. He'd pushed too hard and driven Puck away, hadn't he? Damn it!

* * *

Needing a place to be alone and think, Puck stormed from the lunch room to the first place he could think of, the make-out closet on the second floor. When he threw open the doors, it was occupied by a couple of sophomores, but after he growled loud enough, they ran off, leaving him alone.

Inside, Puck barred the door with a broom handle and took his phone out of his pocket, opening it and scrolling through exactly what had been said. Kurt was getting bored with him. Fuck. Puck should have known this wouldn't be enough for a guy as confident as Kurt. He wanted everything. He wanted Puck to reveal who he was, so they could actually do the things they'd been texting about. And he wanted to give Kurt everything, he really did. But how could Puck do that when he knew Kurt would just laugh in his face?

He couldn't take that rejection. Not while he felt like such a damn intruder in his own house when _he_ was over. _He_ kept trying to be a father figure or some shit, when all Puck wanted was someone who would treat his mom right and not get in his way. It didn't help that the night before, his mom had made them watch TV and a gay character came onto the show, making _him_ get all bible-y and preachy about how real men were supposed to be with women. It pissed him off, because these days he just couldn't get his mind off Kurt and Kurt's very attractive guy parts. If _he_ ever found that picture on Puck's phone, _he'd_ go apeshit. Maybe that would be okay. Maybe Puck could just show up with Kurt on his arm, or better yet in his pants, and that would show his mom what an absolute loser freak she was dating.

But Puck wasn't ready for all that yet. He was still trying to figure out how to work his relationship with Kurt into his badass image. He needed a plan for this to work. A plan besides texting Kurt until the other boy got sick of him. He needed to build up his store of badassness so that everyone could know about Kurt and wouldn't care. Puck fucking _needed_ to convince Kurt to be with him, to kiss him and touch him and tell him in person, with that amazing voice, that everything was going to work out. But one look at Puck's face, and Kurt would know what an absolute loser he was with and run screaming.

Unless it was dark enough, like in this closet. If it was dark enough, Puck could show Kurt how awesome he was at kissing and grinding, without having to show his face. If he kept to whispering, Kurt might not even recognize his voice. It wasn't like they'd had all that many conversations in person. And if he changed into a hoodie, that would hide his identity even further. If Kurt fell head over heels in love with him first, maybe he wouldn't care who Puck really was. Maybe he wouldn't make Puck give up on love after what had happened with Santana and Quinn and even, in a way, his deadbeat old man. Maybe Kurt could fix him.

Puck thought about putting off his plan until the next day, when he could bring a clean hoodie from home, instead of the two-day used one in his gym locker. But he couldn't wait until tomorrow. Not when he had a perfectly good plan today. So, gathering up his courage, Puck wrote to Kurt: _When is Glee practice over tonight? Can you meet me in the second floor janitor's closet?_

_4:30,_ was Kurt's response. _But if this is a prank, so help me, baby, I will end you._

_I know. _Puck wrote for the second time that hour. Along with Rachel and Quinn, Kurt was one of the evil geniuses of the glee club. There was no doubt in Puck's mind that if he really wanted to, Kurt could set him up to be expelled, or even arrested if he played the guy wrong now. That cleverness was actually one of the things Puck really liked about Kurt. That and his amazing ass.

* * *

While waiting for everyone to gather so Glee Club could start their after school rehearsal, Kurt, Mercedes and Quinn started singing one of their favorite dance songs.

_He ate my heart, he a-a-ate my heart._

Kurt started with the main verse, with Mercedes adding embellishment and Quinn chiming in on certain words as they all danced together.

_Look at him, look at me,  
That boy is bad, and honestly  
He's a wolf in disguise  
But I can't stop staring in those evil eyes._

During the next section, Kurt took Gaga's role while Quinn played the part of her girlfriend, singing,

_I asked my girlfriend if she'd seen you 'round before.  
She mumbled something while we got down on the floor, baby:_

_(We might've fucked not really sure, don't quite recall_  
_But something tells me that I've seen him, yeah, before)_

As Puck was passing them Quinn grabbed the boy and spun him around once with a bright smile, calling him the monster of the song. Well, it fit. She and Puck did have that disastrous one-night stand. And now Kurt had to decide if the jock had changed enough in the last year to be worth dating, or meeting in janitor's closets.

_That boy is a monster, m-m-m-monster_

When Quinn released him and returned to dancing with Mercedes, Puck staggered away with a confused look on his face. It deepened when he caught Kurt watching him as they sang, one corner of his lip twitching upward before he squelched it and went to go hang out with the guys.

_That boy is a monster, m-m-m-monster_

Because of that little slip up, Kurt kept half an eye on Puck during rehearsal that afternoon, looking for more signs that the boy actually wanted him. Kurt wavered back and forth between being excited for his first in-person hook up with a guy and being scared out of his mind that it was with Puck, of all people. Despite that tiny moment of eye contact, he still couldn't quite shake the feeling that Puck didn't really mean all the things he'd written. What if he was the same impressively insensitive meathead he'd always appeared to be? What if he didn't really want Kurt? What if Puck knew Kurt's threat of retaliation was really an empty one and was planning on some sort of punch line to go with this long con? What if he was in this just to break Kurt's heart?

He almost blew his cover when they were learning the choreography for their new Sectionals number in the auditorium. He and Puck collided halfway through the number and the taller boy caught him before he could fall. Heart beating wildly in his chest, Kurt steadied his feet, straightened his hair, and mumbled an apology. Puck did the same and they moved on without making eye contact. Kurt wondered if Puck was just as turned on by the encounter as he was, but nothing showed on that damn poker face of his.

When rehearsal was winding down, Kurt wasn't at all surprised that Puck skipped out a few minutes early, blowing off Finn's concerned shout of, "Where ya goin', dude? What's wrong?"

When Finn then turned to Rachel and asked her, "Has he been acting weird today, or is it just me?" she smiled over at Kurt and winked.

"I don't know, Finn," the girl told her boyfriend, patting his arm comfortingly. "But if you're very concerned, you can ask him about it tomorrow."

"Yeah," Finn smiled down at her, sickeningly sweet. "Yeah, you're right, Rach. You're so smart!"

Kurt gagged toward Mercedes beside him, who stifled a giggle and asked, "Can I get a ride home, sweetie?"

His stomach dropping at having to choose between his best friend and the hot guy waiting for him in a very dark closet down the hall, Kurt cried, "I can't today, Mercedes! I'm meeting someone..." When he saw her almost-excited and questioning expression, Kurt continued, "...for a tutoring session. My dad's been on my case lately to pay for my own designer clothing! Can you believe him?"

"Oh, well," she shrugged. "I'll get a ride with Tina. We'll hang tomorrow at lunch, though, right?"

"Of course," Kurt smiled, wiggling his fingers with hers in their own personal gesture of friendship. Then, as soon as Mr. Schuester called it quits for the day, Kurt hurried from the room, smirking at the dorky thumbs-up Rachel gave him as he passed. Now to hope that his admirer was serious about wanting Kurt and to convince Puck to give up his identity…

* * *

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit," Puck said to himself as he waited for Kurt to arrive, pulling his hoodie on and flipping up the hood to hide his face in shadow. There was no way he could go through with this! Could he? Sure, he was a _stud_. He could have anyone he wanted. But why did he want Kurt so badly?

He thought one more time about bolting before Kurt got there, but then the closet door opened and shut, and the boy mumbled a nervous, "Hey."

Kurt was there, in the make-out closet, with him! Puck flashed back to those few seconds during rehearsal, when he'd gotten to hold onto Kurt so they wouldn't fall, and all his blood just started boiling. Unable to resist, Puck surged forward, using his hands to help find Kurt's mouth in the darkness. And then, without letting the rest of his body touch Kurt's, because he was afraid of where that might lead, Puck kissed the boy soundly on the lips.

Oh, sweet merciful fuck, that was good! Even better than he'd imagined while watching Kurt over the past two months. As high as his voice was, the way that Kurt kissed him back was nothing like how a girl would. His lips were hot and smooth, yes, but his kisses were every bit as hard and demanding as Puck's. And they tasted like, "Root Beer?" Puck asked in a hoarse whisper as their first kiss broke. He was sure the boy detested all carbonated beverages. Something about ruining the skin, he thought he remembered.

"What?" Kurt asked breathlessly. "Oh!" he chuckled, one hand finding Puck's arm and pulling him closer. "Brit leant me some lip gloss earlier. Flavored. I forgot!"

"Like it," Puck growled, leaning in for another kiss and deliberately dragging the tip of his tongue over Kurt's bottom lip to collect more of the sweet flavor. The shorter boy moaned and grabbed Puck's hips, jerking him forward so he had to catch his weight with one hand on either side of Kurt's head against the closet door. And then their bodies were touching. Kurt was taller than all of the girls Puck had been with, including Brittany, which meant that to keep most of his chest and his hips pressed against Kurt's he didn't even have to break the kiss or stoop down or anything.

Then, the other boy's tongue found its way between Puck's lips, dancing across his teeth until he groaned low in his throat and opened his jaw wider to let Kurt in. Holy fuck, this just kept getting better and better, especially when Kurt's tongue boldly swept full-width along Puck's and the jock could taste nothing besides sweet and wet and hot and male! It made Puck's knees weak, or at least that's what he thought. When Kurt's hands drifted downward and grabbed Puck's ass, thrusting their hips together, Puck gasped in surprise when his knees got even weaker.

Breaking off the kiss, Puck whispered, "You're trying to kill me, here, Hummel!"

"No," the boy murmured, tilting his head to place a delicate kiss on Puck's chin. "I'm trying to convince you that this is way better than texting."

"God," Puck grabbed Kurt's hands from his ass and pinned them against the door over the boy's head before going in for another kiss. "It's working."

When his lips were free again, Puck felt Kurt shrug and say, "I know," his high voice full of sass and self-confidence. Puck was supposed to be the confident, cocky badass of any relationship, but the almost painful hardness of his dick told him that maybe this time, it was okay to be with someone almost as confident as he was, since it was so fucking hot!

Letting go of Kurt's hands, Puck let his do whatever the hell they wanted, which was mostly trying to feel up Kurt's chest through the boy's starched and pressed designer button-down shirt. When Puck moved his lips down to attack Kurt's neck, breathing in the true scent of him behind his ear (which made him even hornier, for fuck's sake!) Kurt said, "I don't have boobs, you know..."

When one of his thumbs finally found what it was looking for, Puck sucked on Kurt's neck and dragged that thumb roughly over Kurt's nipple. The shorter boy gave a satisfying squeak and Puck suddenly felt more like the sex god he was used to being. Oh, yeah. He was going to show this boy such a good time, that there was no way Kurt would be able to give him up once he knew who his secret admirer was.

"Holy shit!" Kurt sighed when Puck did it again, pressing his thumb in a circle just so. The wild desire in Kurt's voice and the shudder that wracked his body drew a low chuckle from Puck's throat. Then, Puck's hand wanted to go lower, so he let it, pressing Kurt into the door with his hard-as-rocks prick to pin the boy in place. When his fingers found the waistband of Kurt's pants, the shorter boy grabbed Puck's hand and pushed him away with one insistent palm on his chest.

"As awesome as this is, baby," Kurt whispered. "We are so not going that far on the first date. I'm no slut."

"But I _need _you," Puck whispered back, "so bad, Kurt!" He wanted the other boy so much, it hurt everywhere! How dare Kurt tease him like this? "This was your idea!"

"I wanted to meet, true," Kurt said, keeping his hand on Puck's chest as he leaned forward to whisper in the taller boy's ear, "but I can't let you in my pants until I know your real name." Puck groaned in frustration.

"Cock-tease," he spat, grabbing Kurt's wrist and pulling him into another full-body kiss.

Pulling his lips away from Puck's, Kurt whispered, "Coward." And then he swung open the door behind him so Puck had to turn his head and pull his hood back up to hide his identity. Kurt chuckled and left, closing the door behind him, leaving Puck alone in the closet. How fucking fitting!

* * *

_Song used: "Monster" by Lady Gaga, as suggested by my music consultant __**Pyropadawan**__!_

_Please don't forget to review. I love hearing from you and I'll try to respond this time :)_


	4. A Fluke Or

_A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews and story alerts! You Pummel fans are some of the best!_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 4 – A Fluke Or …

_He _came over again that night, Tuesday night, to spend time with Puck's family. Too bad neither of his mom's children was fond of _him _in the least. But _he_ tried, serving the Puckerman family Thai food that he'd apparently cooked himself, even though he was Polish, and fucking _blond_. As Puck used a pair of chopsticks to repeatedly stab his food, _he_ asked, "So, Noah? What did you do at school today?"

Still grumpy from his aborted make-out session, Puck thought about describing his encounter with Kurt in detail, but he wasn't quite ready for his mom to know yet. Maybe once he reached that thousand dollar mark in the bank account Mrs. Hudson had helped him get because _he_ had convinced Puck's mom that Noah shouldn't be in charge of his own fucking money after making one mistake and getting Quinn pregnant. Once he had a thousand bucks to live off of and was the most popular kid in McKinley High, _then_ Puck could tell his mom and everyone else in Lima that he was seeing a guy. If she and her bastard boyfriend didn't like it, well tough shit, he would move out and live on his own.

Since he couldn't say that yet and both adults were still waiting for an answer, Puck shrugged and said, "The usual. Class, glee, football."

"Now, you're a running back," the bastard asked, like he knew the first thing about football, "aren't you Noah? That's an important position."

"Sure," he answered, buying some time by stuffing a large pile of food into his mouth. "It's not quarterback, but I'm the fastest dude on the team, so they had to give me the job."

"And I hear good things about your kicker, at least about on the field." Frowning, _he_ asked, "Is it true that off the field he's one of these misguided fairy boys that-"

Having had enough, Puck slammed down his plate and stood up growling, "Kurt is my friend, _Andy_. Don't ever fucking talk about him like that in front of me again!"

"Noah!" Puck's mom gasped, covering her daughter's ears with both hands. Like she didn't let Sarah watch R-rated movies all the fucking time…

"No! I'm sick of people in this town harassing my _friend_ just because he falls in love with other dudes. What business of it is anyone's? I mean, you get all mad when somebody in town starts talking shit about Jews, how is Kurt being gay any different?"

"Son," Andy started out, like the bastard was actually Puck's father, "this language is inappropriate for the dinner table! It's touching that you want to stand up for your friend, but he's _confused_. He just-"

"Fuck this!" Puck cried, grabbing his keys and storming out of the house. If he was lucky, Andy would be gone by the time he got done driving around town. Kurt wanted him to take the high road and not get in trouble over a bigot like _him_. Kurt wanted to be able to trust him, and Puck hadn't even given the boy his name yet! God, when would this fucking indecision end? Puck wasn't misguided and he wasn't confused! Was he?

Maybe he needed to make out with Kurt again, just to make sure. Texting quickly, Puck asked: _Same time, same place tomorrow?_

_Okay_, Kurt replied and Puck found himself smiling in a way that wasn't predatory like it usually was at the thought of a hook up, but came from the gooey, fuzzy feelings in his gut. Well, shit.

* * *

Again Kurt watched Puck take off early from glee, and exchanged a look with Rachel, who had seen him go. As everyone else filed from the room, Rachel whispered to him, "Are you sure you want to keep doing this? It seems a little skeevy. You know who he is, but he doesn't know that you know..."

"Rach," Kurt replied coolly, "my anonymous suitor is a very physical being. The only way he's going to break down and tell me his identity is if I give him just enough physicality to make it worth it to him."

"I suppose that makes sense," Rachel nodded. "But what if he gets bored with you after a few of these sessions and decides to move on to someone who will put out? Puck's not very patient, and I should know."

"Ugh," Kurt muttered, sticking out his tongue a little, "don't remind me that you're one of the girls he made out with. I'm a big boy, Rachel, I know what I'm getting into. Besides, I _really _don't want to refuse. That boy can kiss like a god!"

With a funny little shake of her head, Rachel shrugged and said, "Let me know how it goes."

Kurt nodded when they parted ways and as he took the stairs up to the second floor, his hands started trembling with excitement. As much as he couldn't believe that Rachel Berry was helping him with Puck, Kurt couldn't believe that of all the boys in the school, _this_ was the one that sought him out. Would Puck get bored soon? Would he decide, once they'd made out a few times that the geeky gay kid wasn't worth his time anymore?

Kurt should just walk away, decide that Puck was more trouble than he was worth before Puck dumped him or humiliated him. The problem was that even though he was an honorary girl, Kurt had the libido and the raging, judgment-clouding hormones of a teenage boy. No way he was going to refuse Puck and miss out on the tastiest pair of lips in the school. Not when he wanted them so badly Kurt almost felt like sobbing at the strength of that overwhelming _need_.

When he got to the janitor's closet, Kurt knocked twice before opening the door, to save Puck his identity for now. Pretending he didn't know his make out partner was Noah Puckerman was the price of admission. And by all that was good and Armani, Kurt wanted to ride that ride.

"Hey," Kurt said carefully, stepping forward as he closed the door and wishing he could see Puck's face.

Hands found his shoulders and ghosted up Kurt's neck to cup either side of his face as Puck whispered, "Missed you, baby," and kissed him firmly but gently. Well, that was different than yesterday. If not for the taste and the close smell of the boy before him being the same as yesterday, Kurt would have wondered if this was someone else in Puck's place.

"Really?" Kurt asked, gasping when Puck dropped one hand to Kurt's shoulder so he could kiss along the shorter boy's jaw. Unable to help himself, Kurt grabbed Puck's waist and pulled him a step closer so he could hug the taller boy against him.

"Hell, yeah," Puck groaned and Kurt shuddered at the sex-filled tone in his voice in his ear. "You're always around, strutting that cute ass of yours up and down the hallways. I'd get in so much trouble if people could see what I imagine doing to you over and over again. All day long."

"Why would you get in trouble?" Kurt asked, hating how shaky his voice got when Puck nipped at his ear. Running his hands up Puck's sides to squeeze the boy's shoulders and upper arms, he said, "You feel like you could beat up anyone who gave you shit about wanting me."

Puck chuckled against his neck before sucking sharply and making Kurt cry out at the wet, shivering, arousing fire coursing through his body like an earthquake, complete with aftershocks. "Because," Puck whispered as his soft-and-hard lips ghosted a trail up Kurt's neck and jaw again, "I can't exactly beat up my mom and her boyfriend."

"Does that mean," Kurt asked, shoving back at Puck, "you won't _ever _tell me who you are?"

"I will," Puck insisted, holding onto the back of Kurt's neck so he would have a hard time getting away, "but I want to be sure."

"Sure of what?" Kurt asked, hating and loving how Puck's strength was so casual. Kurt had gained a little muscle from football practice, but not enough to really be able to match the other boy, whose arms under Kurt's hands felt like steel wrapped in a sweatshirt.

"Sure that yesterday," Puck said, loosening his hold on Kurt's neck and pressing him back against the cinderblock wall of the closet with his body, "wasn't just some kind of ..."

"Fluke?" Kurt supplied, feeling Puck's lips smile as they ghosted over his cheek.

"Yeah," the boy sighed. "Plus, I _am _a chicken-shit coward when it comes to this. I'm not you." Puck's lips found Kurt's again, kneading and nipping, his tongue briefly brushing Kurt's lower lip. The sensation made Kurt's heart shudder and beat wildly in his chest and his hands scrabbled at the bottom of Puck's sweatshirt, aching to touch the skin at the small of his back.

Christ, Puck's skin felt like fire under Kurt's fingertips! It was all hot and soft and smooth, the muscles of his lower back shifting as Puck ground against Kurt slowly and murmured. Kurt had no more idea how to do any of this than he had the day before, but Puck didn't seem to notice, coaxing Kurt's tongue out to play, holding Kurt pressed close between his body and the wall, whispering, "God, yes, babe."

They kissed again and again, Kurt's lips rapidly drying out, and when Puck broke away for a few deep breaths, hot air breezing back against Kurt's face when the other boy exhaled, Kurt asked, "What's the verdict?"

"Huh?" Puck asked dumbly.

"Was yesterday a fluke or…?" There was a long moment of silence as Kurt let the meaning of his question sink in and Puck stood before him, panting. Then, he grabbed Kurt tighter and squeezed, hugging him shortly.

"Or," Puck growled, attacking Kurt's neck near his shoulder and making Kurt squirm and shout with how much it tickled. "Definitely or."

Kurt smiled and found Puck's lips again, in love with the taste of them, knowing it was a flavor he would crave constantly from then on. All the kissing and grinding caught up to him all of a sudden and he realized how turned on he was getting. That was _not_ part of the plan. Breathing heavily, Kurt whispered, "I have to get home. My dad's going to kill me if I'm late for dinner."

"No," Puck insisted with a chuckle, attacking the other side of Kurt's neck.

"Yes!" Kurt cried, giggling as he smacked Puck's shoulder to get him to back off. "But we could pick this up again? Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Puck agreed, stepping back and letting Kurt leave first. "Bye, Kurt."

"Goodbye, baby," Kurt whispered back, pressing one last kiss to Puck's lips before carefully opening the door and slipping out.

* * *

Puck sat in the back of the room during glee on Friday, like always, and tried to avoid staring a hole in the back of Kurt's head. He'd made out with the boy three times now, and Puck still couldn't decide when or how or even if to tell Kurt who he was. Pathetic.

"You're up, Puck," Mr. Schue called as one of the new girls stepped away from the floor and back to her seat. "Have you got something ready?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded, tiredly hoisting himself out of his seat and getting his guitar from the side of the room. This week Schue had assigned them to sing any song by an artist of the opposite gender. It was supposed to help with stage presence or some shit. Puck hadn't really wanted to think about it, because he hardly ever listened to chick singers, so when Rachel suggested a song to him after class, Puck shrugged and wrote it down. The song itself was kind of gay for him to be singing, but if Puck could make out with a dude every day that week after school, he could sing one semi-gay song.

Puck started off with the guitar line and a swinging, nonsense introduction, which was actually a little fun to sing.

_Lah-tah-dah lah-tah-dah-dah dah..._

Then, as he moved into the first verse, Puck couldn't help but smile to himself at the first line.

_I'm tuggin' at my hair_

He hadn't had much hair since the mole incident and deciding he looked cooler with a shaved head than he would trying to grow back the Mohawk. There was no hair left to tug.

_I'm pullin' at my clothes.  
I'm tryin' to keep my cool.  
I know it shows._

_I'm staring at my feet,  
My cheeks are turning red,  
And I'm searching for  
The words inside my head._

_'Cause I feel so nervous  
Tryin' to be so perfect,  
But I know you're worth it._

_You're worth it._

_If I could say what I wanna say.  
I'd say I wanna blow you  
Away._

As he sang, Puck found his eyes lingering on Kurt now and again, even though he was trying really hard not to let it happen. Shit. Why hadn't he realized how suggestive this song was? And why did his eyes keep sneaking back over to look at Kurt when he sang "I wanna blow you..."? Well, Puck knew _why_, but not how to stop doing it. Kurt was going to find out about him now, Puck was sure of it. He wasn't ready. Not to risk what he already had with Kurt for the iffy promise of something better.

_Be with you every night.  
Am I squeezing you too tight?  
If I could see what I wanna see,  
I'd wanna see you go down  
On me._

Fucking hell, that wasn't the right lyric! Puck was supposed to have sung, "on one knee" but whatever. He was Puck. They'd let him get away with it as long as he didn't stare at the ground and blush like a bitch. So, Puck smirked instead, not at anyone in particular, though by the smile spreading across Santana's face, she might have thought he was flirting with her.

_Marry me today.  
Guess I'm wishing my life away,  
With these things I'd never say._

_It don't do me any good,  
It's just a waste of time.  
What is it to you  
What's on my mind?_

_If it ain't comin' out,  
We're not going anywhere.  
So why can't I just  
Tell you that I care?_

What the fuck was Rachel thinking when she told Puck to do this song? She had been stalking him lately, watching his every move, but Puck just figured it was because he was hot and she was with Finn, the virginal man-boy. How the hell could she think that Puck would fall into that trap again, going after his best friend's girl? It wasn't going to happen, even if he hadn't been crushing on Kurt at the moment.

This song _did _have an audience of one, Kurt - Puck's obsession, his downfall, his closet make-out buddy, his fucking life – because things between them _weren't _going anywhere. Kurt hadn't again let things get as far as they had on their first "date", even though Puck was pretty sure the shorter boy wanted more. Why couldn't Puck just say it? He had to have the boy wrapped around his little finger by now, right? What were the odds Kurt would dump him? What were the odds he would stay?

_Guess I'm wishing my life away  
With these things I'd never say._

When Puck finished and looked up, Santana was ogling him, Rachel was smiling at him with a damn romantic look in her eye, Quinn looked sad, Brittany smiled brightly, Aretha held a softer expression than normal, and Kurt was studying his nails. This was why Puck couldn't tell the boy who he was. If a song like that couldn't get Kurt to look at him with even just a little glimmer of how he used to look at Finn, their relationship or whatever was doomed before it started. _Everyone_ wanted him. Why didn't Kurt?

* * *

Puck got Kurt to meet him again that afternoon before they had to leave for their away football game. "Don't have much time," Kurt said, breathless like he'd hurried to their closet after class.

"Don't need much," Puck insisted, attacking the smaller boy with his lips. He couldn't believe how much he wanted Kurt. His hands moved on their own, grabbing and groping whatever flesh he could.

When he squeezed Kurt's hard on through his pants, the other boy gasped and grabbed his wrist, pulling the hand away. "No," he hissed.

"Why not?" Puck growled in frustration. When Kurt scoffed, Puck whispered harshly, "How am I gonna be sure you'll still want to see me after you find out who I am ... if I can't show you the best reason to stay?"

"Just tell me," Kurt insisted. "I already promised I wouldn't freak out."

Puck was so horny, his mouth opened to say the words and he drew breath to speak before he could stop himself. It was only the memory of dozens of dumpster tosses and slushies that kept Puck from speaking. How could Kurt want him after all of that? At least right now. Eventually, after a few more weeks of these make-out sessions, Kurt would break. He'd beg Puck to get him off, or maybe even to fuck him. And then the boy would really be his.

So Puck closed his mouth again and pressed a few more kisses to Kurt's lips, working him up a little. When Puck pulled back he asked, "I'll see you on Monday?"

"Hell yes!" Kurt whispered, which made Puck chuckle, breaking the tension that had cropped up between them. "And if you aren't here at four-thirty, I reserve the right to kiss every guy in this school until I find you."

Puck laughed again at the absurdity of Kurt's suggestion, whispering, "That's a good way to get yourself killed, Hummel!"

"Then you'd better show up," Kurt laughed, hugging Puck once more, his face pressed to Puck's neck. And then, he was gone again.

* * *

Puck's mom brought Andy to the game, like Puck actually wanted him there. Instead, he wished he could set the guy on fire and watch while he flailed around and burnt to a crisp without getting in a shit-ton of trouble. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but Puck did want to kick that guy's ass. Or maybe get a group of guys together to kick his ass. Andy wouldn't even have to know who'd been the ringleader, if they wore masks.

But shit, Finn wouldn't help him, since he was walking the straight and narrow for Rachel's sake. And because he thought it was the right thing to do. Without Finn to back him up, Puck didn't trust any of the other guys not to turn on him and rat him out.

He was just going to have to live with it, wasn't he? Or maybe he could think up some other way to get rid of the guy. Puck wasn't a planner. He was more of a spur of the moment kind of dude. He understood dealing out pain. He understood humiliation and revenge, not plotting out how to break up his mom and her boyfriend. Telling her to her face what a douchebag Andy was didn't work, and he was fresh out of ideas. Maybe Kurt would help him?

Even though Kurt made all but one of the field goals he went up for, they still lost the game. The other team had just been too much for McKinley's defense to handle. And, Puck got tackled every time he managed to catch the ball, never quite making it to the endzone.

Oh their way to the locker rooms, he and Finn were stopped by Puck's mom, who encouraged them, "You boys did well out there."

"Thanks, Mrs. Puckerman," Finn nodded, even his downtrodden look all puppy-dog-ish. Parents found Finn cute and charming, while they just found Puck either surprisingly attractive or that he made them uncomfortable and edgy. That was how life was, but seeing his mom smile brightly at Finn instead of him made Puck jealous. He just had to squash it down like always and try to remember what a good friend Finn had been to him.

While Puck was working on squashing that resentment down, Andy had to go and stick his perfect nose into the conversation and ask Finn, "Your guys just couldn't give you enough time to throw the ball, could they, son?"

"Yeah," Finn nodded slowly, shooting Puck a questioning glance, which he answered with a shrug.

"Seems to me," Andy continued, meeting Puck's eyes, "that if you had put in a little more effort, Noah, you could have gotten to that goal zone more often than you did. We might have to work on that at home, son."

"It seems to me," Puck replied, trying his damnedest not to let his voice show how pissed off he was, though he did step away when Andy tried to clap him on the shoulder, "that we already have one coach, Andy. I don't need another one."

"Puck..." his mother warned, but Puck just shook his head and pushed Finn along, waving back at his mom half-heartedly. He didn't even want to acknowledge the man standing next to her.

He saw Kurt back there, watching the scene before snapping to attention and following the other players. Once they were a little away from his mom, Puck asked, "What were you looking at, Hummel?"

"Nothing," Kurt shrugged, passing Puck and Finn like he was in a hurry to get out of his football pads. Puck tried not to watch his ass as Kurt walked by, but did end up peeking with just one eye. For only two seconds. Finn didn't notice a thing.

Kurt came up with that plan to get Finn's mom to move in with his dad, right? Maybe he would have some good ideas for breaking people up, too. Puck would have to ask the next time he texted Kurt and hope he didn't have to resort to manslaughter before then.

* * *

_Song used: "Things I'll Never Say" by Avril Lavigne, again as suggested by __**Pyropadawan**_

_Don't forget to review! What do you think of Rachel's involvement? About Andy? Thanks for taking the time to read my work!_


	5. Rachel's Plan

_A/N: I am consistently surprised by how many reviews I'm getting. Especially per capita. You gleeks are such good commenters! I love it! _

_This chapter and the next are a little shorter, and kind of go together well, so it'll be one chapter per day through Saturday._

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 5 – Rachel's Plan

On Saturday morning, after almost a whole school week of actual, in-the-flesh make-out sessions with Puck, Kurt had a surprise visitor. He was listening to Madonna down in his basement bedroom, halfway through his weekly facial mask, when Rachel Berry trotted down the stairs, crying, "Good morning, Kurt!"

"Rachel!" the boy shrieked, tightening his bathrobe. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" After one look at her outfit, which included far too many colors and animals, he added, "Or the term, 'clash'?"

"I'll just take that as a friendly, 'Good morning, Rachel! What have you brought me?'" the girl replied with a grin.

Just then noticing the tote bag behind Rachel's back, Kurt parroted back, "Good morning, Rachel. What have you brought me?" Remembering that this girl held the secret that could ruin his chances with Puck, Kurt forced the sneer of distaste from his lips and gave his maybe-friend what he hoped was a warm smile.

Overpowering his smile with her dazzling one, Rachel pulled from the tote what appeared to be an item of clothing and unfurled it with a flourish. "It's a black band t-shirt," Kurt said, his smile fading despite his attempt to be polite. "And it appears to be rather … vintage. I hope you don't expect me to wear that..."

"No!" Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I expect you to give it to Puck! To show that you've been listening to him! When I got Finn a drumstick that was used once by the guy from Air Supply, he went nuts and did whatever I asked him to for, like, a month. I was thinking it might help convince Puck a real relationship with you is worth risking his precious reputation."

"Well," Kurt said, approaching the hideous item of clothing and timidly sniffing it, surprised it smelled like fabric softener and not the cigarettes and alcohol he'd been expecting. "It _is_ from his favorite band. Where did you get it?"

"My dads were cleaning out their closet and they came across it. My dad says it used to belong to his brother, but I really think it was his and he doesn't want my daddy mocking him for his bad taste. He just let me have it."

"Well, thank you, Rachel," Kurt said as sincerely as he could while still wearing his oatmeal mask. "That was very sweet of you."

"I have a plan, too, so go wash your face and get dressed, I'm going to go wake up Finn."

"Is he part of the plan?" Kurt asked, trying to raise one eyebrow and failing because of the gunk - highly cleansing and nutritious _paste_ - still caked all over his face.

"Yes," Rachel bobbed her head matter-of-factly. "_Also,_ I just think he's adorable when he's all sleepy and confused!"

"Go get 'im, tiger," Kurt chuckled as he stepped into his bathroom and closed the door. He was really glad he had gotten over Finn during the summer. As cute as he seemed from a distance, living with that big, clumsy, smelly oaf had certainly opened Kurt's eyes to a few things. Especially the fact that Finn was completely in love with Rachel Berry, the most annoying, if surprisingly sweet, person on the planet.

While he was getting dressed, Kurt got a text from Puck: _I miss you, babe._

His heart melting into a big puddle of goo on his closet floor, Kurt wrote back: _Miss you, too. Wish I didn't have to wait for Monday to see you._

_Yeah. Last night was bad at home and I really wanted to be with you instead. I'm going to die this weekend without you._

_Don't be such a drama queen, baby! That's my job! _Kurt typed, trying to be cheerful, but worrying about what might have happened at Puck's house the night before.

There was no answer as Kurt finished dressing, going for moderately casual in a pair of well-fitted jeans, a short-sleeved polo, and one of last year's designer t-shirts layered over the top. Puck's next text came while Kurt was deciding how to accessorize his outfit: _My dumbass friend's calling in a favor. Won't be around most of today. Later, though?_

_Later_, Kurt replied, really wondering what Rachel was up to. And, speak of the devil, there came the girl now, skipping down his stairs like a fairy princess. A blind, badly dressed fairy princess.

"What's the plan, Berry?" Kurt asked, hoping Finn wasn't right behind her. There was no way that boy could keep a straight face around Puck if he knew what was going on, and then Puck would know that Kurt had figured it out and blabbed.

"We are painting Finn's room today! And Puck agreed to help!"

At this news, delivered so happily, Kurt couldn't decide whether this was the worst idea he'd ever heard, or the best. He'd get to spend all day with Puck, who wanted to be near him especially after last night, but Kurt had to treat the boy the same as he always had. Which meant no flirting and _no kissing_. Damn it! How the hell would he be able to be in the same room as those lips without kissing them now that he knew exactly what it felt like?

* * *

Puck lay on his bed after waking up, not really wanting to move, since he had waited until one in the morning before coming home to make sure Andy was long gone. God help him if his mom ever decided she loved that douche bag and asked him to move in. Puck would never go home. He wondered if he just stayed in bed until he starved to death, if that would be any better. Or maybe Mrs. Hudson would take pity on him and let him move in. It would mean abandoning Sarah with that asshole, but at least she was a girl, and fell under their mom's jurisdiction, according to Andy's insane logic. _And_ it would mean being in the same house as Kurt all the time and still having to pretend he wasn't obsessed with the boy.

Maybe he would sneak into Kurt's bedroom every night, under the cover of darkness, like he had in the janitor's closet, and show the other boy a _very_ good time. God, four make-out sessions weren't enough! Nothing short of actually being with Kurt would be enough. Puck briefly thought about calling up Jenna for one last hurrah on the completely-straight-mobile, until he got the idea to text Kurt. Maybe the guy would help him out with his morning wood through texting. And screw the fact that Puck wanted the real thing now that he knew just what Kurt tasted like, this was as good as it was going to get today. He meant to write something appropriately dirty to fit his mood, but the message Puck sent simply said: _I miss you, babe._

How lame was that? He hadn't even sent the message because he thought it might be what Kurt wanted to hear. He sent it because that's what he actually _felt_! Damn, he'd gone and admitted to himself what he wanted and now he was becoming a pussy about it. And he _was _the coward Kurt accused him of being. He couldn't quite bring himself to stand up for what he wanted when everyone else would know about it! And, Puck didn't trust Kurt enough to keep the secret for him, even if the guy was withholding sex on him until he 'fessed up.

After trading a few more sickeningly sweet texts with Kurt, Puck's phone started ringing. Sighing when he saw it was Finn, Puck answered, "What d'you want, bro?"

"Uh, hey, dude," Finn began carefully, and Puck realized the guy must have just woken up. Some whispering noises confirmed his assumption that someone was prodding Finn into calling him this early. But who? Finn's mom? Rachel? Kurt? "Look, after the whole Quinn thing, you kinda owe me one, right?"

"Yeah, dude," Puck sighed, wondering how long that one mistake was going to haunt him. "What do you want?"

"Well, uh, Rach and I are redecorating my room this weekend. You know, making it really mine, and we need your help with ... uh ... painting and building and stuff. Can you come over?"

Puck wanted to ask if Kurt was going to be there, like he always seemed to be whenever Puck visited. He didn't ask, though, partly because he didn't know if it would be a good thing or a bad thing to see the boy and partly because he didn't want to show any interest in Kurt whatsoever. Not that Finn would ever connect the dots. But if that was Rachel there with Finn, whispering into his ear, _she _might. So, in lieu of asking about Kurt, having nothing better to do that weekend and really wanting to get out from underfoot at home, Puck agreed, "Yeah, bro. I'll be over in a bit."

"Sweet! Thanks, Puck," Finn replied with that wholesome enthusiasm he seemed so good at and that made everyone, including Puck, like the bastard.

After sending Kurt one last text, Puck thought about getting up and taking a shower then, but he knew it was a bad idea to go over to Kurt Hummel's house with a loaded gun in his pants. He'd just have to take care of that first and try not to blush if and when he saw the object of his desires in person. At least Puck had had lots of practice pretending to ignore Kurt during school and Glee and, God, especially in the fucking locker room!

* * *

"Noah?" his mom asked, knocking on his door just as the jock finished getting dressed in some old, but still sexy, painting clothes to go over to Kurt's house.

"What is it, Ma?" he asked. "I'm spending the day helping Finn."

"Helping?" she asked, stepping into his room and sitting on Puck's bed, which made him briefly uncomfortable, given the last thing he'd done in bed before getting up and showering. "With what?"

"Painting his new room," Puck replied, wondering why she just couldn't let him get out of there before Andy showed up for lunch, like he always did on Saturdays. "I kinda owe him."

Taking a sharp breath, his mom said, "I've been meaning to ask you, honey, how are things going with Finn? Are you two best friends again?"

"Sorta," he replied, leaning against his dresser and letting a smile creep onto his face. He didn't know his mom cared whether or not he had any friends.

"I see," she nodded with a kind smile. Then the bomb hit, "I don't really see _why_, after what you did to him..."

"Ma," Puck sighed, exasperated, "it's over and done with! Finn gets that. Quinn gets that. Why can't you just drop it already?"

"Oh, honey," his mom said, suddenly all sweet again as she stood to wrap her arms around his middle and lay her head on his chest. "I just want to know that you're making better choices. With any new girlfriends you might have."

Puck stiffened in his mom's arms, but he didn't say anything. His mom had been assuming he only liked girls since he'd first bragged about kissing a girl in third grade, under the jungle gym. First kid in his class to pull that one off, and his mom had been oddly proud. How could he change that image she held dear now? Since Babygate, especially, she saw him as a screw-up loser. She probably thought he was on the road to becoming his deadbeat dad, who she loved hating on. How could Puck throw 'half-gay' into the mix, too?

"Have you been seeing anyone?" his mom asked, and though it sounded like an innocent question, Puck knew it wasn't.

"I've sort of had this crush," he admitted, hoping for the best, "since the beginning of the school year. It might be moving somewhere, but it probably won't work out."

"Why not?" she asked, loosening her hold on Puck's middle and stepping back before reaching up to caress his face. "Is she put off by your horrible, but well-deserved reputation?"

_Fucking twist that knife a little more, why don't you?_ Puck brushed past his mom, saying, "It's nothing, Ma. Just stupid teenage drama."

"Don't get this one pregnant," she ordered and Puck laughed. Oh, if she only knew.

"Not gonna happen," he insisted, trying to escape, but his mom caught his wrist and stopped him.

Catching his eyes in hers, she sighed, "I wish you wouldn't be so eager to leave whenever Andy's going to come over."

"I wish you wouldn't be so _eager_," Puck snapped back, "to _invite_ him over. What do you even see in that guy? Has he got it goin' on downstairs or somethin'?"

"Noah!" his mom gasped, letting go of his wrist. "Andy is good to me, and to you if you would ever get over your attitude long enough to see it. He's been trying to help you learn responsibility, since God knows I gave up my bragging rights when I married your father. He's been helping Sarah with her math homework. Did you even know he's an accountant?"

"Good for him," Puck rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean I have to like him. He's an ass."

"Agggh!" his mom groaned. "Fine. Do whatever the fuck you want, Noah. See where _that_ gets you in life."

"Thanks, Ma," Puck smiled, brushing off his mom's aggravation and jogging down the narrow staircase and out the front door before she could call him back. Puck had places to be, friends to help, parents to avoid, and gay boys to secretly seduce. It was going to be a difficult Saturday, and it wasn't even eleven o'clock in the morning. Damn.

* * *

When the doorbell rang and Finn went to go answer it, Kurt stopped moving furniture to the middle of the room and said to Rachel, "I don't know if I can do this!"

"Why not?" the girl asked. "You said it yourself that you're only giving this relationship a month to get off the ground. It's been two weeks! Why not do whatever it takes to get it going while there's still time?"

"But if we push too hard, he's just gonna get mad and start beating me up again. I can't believe I agreed to your ham-handed help for this! I don't nee-"

"Hey, guys!" Finn broke off as he came back into the room. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you two are already fighting over what girly color you're going to paint my room." When the giant stepped in further, Kurt saw Puck behind Finn, his lips pressed together in a damn kissable pout as he kept his eyes down. Oh, well if Puck was just as nervous about this, maybe that would be okay. If Kurt could ever get his heart to stop beating so loudly and his mouth to quit drying up like that.

"No, of course not," Rachel replied with a smile. "We were arguing about..."

"Glee," Kurt supplied when Rachel faltered. "Rachel and I are working on a secret project together."

"That's right," Rachel agreed. "Top Secret Project."

"Oh, c'mon guys!" Finn protested. "You can tell us about it! Puck and I'll help. Right, bro?"

Scrunching up his brows in Finn's direction, Puck replied, "Whatever, dude. Let them have their surprise."

Was that Puck actually defending Kurt, without actually seeming like he was? Kurt smirked and said, "Yeah, we wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for you, Finn."

"Why don't we," Rachel said, "all go to the hardware store and pick out a color of paint that Finn finds masculine enough?"

"Sure. C'mon, guys!" Finn agreed, leading the way with Rachel at his side, Puck and Kurt following.

"Sorry you got roped into this," Kurt managed to say to Puck as they left the house.

"It's cool, dude," the other boy replied, still refusing to look at Kurt. Maybe today would be good, letting Puck get used to talking with him in public. The less nervous they were around each other, the more Puck trusted him, right?

* * *

As Puck took shotgun in Kurt's car because Rachel insisted she and Finn needed to sit together in the back to discuss renovation plans, he wondered why the fuck he'd agreed to this. Anyone could tell he wasn't feeling his normal, cocky self around Kurt. They would figure it out! Kurt would figure it out! Unless he could play it cool.

He used to be good at playing it cool, but that was before anything really mattered. Before Quinn he hadn't actually felt much for the girls he'd been with, and the stakes were so much lower. But with Kurt, besides not being ready to deal with the consequences of liking another dude, Puck felt like everything he said or did around the boy meant so much more than it should have. Because he had real feelings for Kurt, even more so since they'd made out after school almost every day that week. Shit.

Kurt started the engine and the radio roared to life, playing some pop garbage, so Puck reached to change the station, only to have his hand slapped before he got there. "Don't ever touch another man's stereo, Puck!" Kurt chastised him indignantly.

Puck found his long-lost smirk jumping to his lips as he replied, "Sorry, Kurt. I didn't know you counted as a man."

"Then I suggest you pay better attention in the locker room after practice on Monday," Kurt replied with a huff, throwing his Navigator in reverse and turning around to watch where he was going. Despite the burning in his cheeks, Puck laughed. He actually _laughed _at Kurt's off-the-cuff invitation to ogle him! Quickly he glanced back at Finn, to see if he was going to have to defend his rep to the quarterback for that slip, but he and Rachel were staring into each other's eyes, lost to the world.

Kurt must have seen his eyes roll at them when he started driving forward, because the boy said, "I know. They're getting downright disgusting. And you haven't had to _live_ with one of those freaks all summer."

"Kurt, dude," Finn complained, "we can hear you!"

"Good!" Kurt called back at him before shooting Puck a smile that had him blushing again. It was a good thing Puck had spent most of the summer outside, because there might have been a snowball's chance in hell that his tan would mask the way he kept blushing whenever Kurt smiled at him. Damn it! He wasn't a fucking girl! He was supposed to be the one making Kurt blush, not the other way around!

Putting his sullen face back on, Puck tried to stay as silent as possible as his three teammates dragged him around the hardware store, making him carry all the heavy things while Kurt tried to argue with Rachel that she was not at all qualified to help pick out a color scheme and she tried to argue that it was her idea in the first place, so she should get some creative input. At least they had given Finn veto power before they bought anything. Puck knew all about the trouble that happened last time Kurt tried to decorate for Finn, and figured that both his friends had learned better this time around.

Shit, did he just call Kurt his friend?

"...Puck? Puck?" Kurt's voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to the present, where the shorter boy was holding two paint samples in front of his face. "Please back me up here!"

Noticing that both samples seemed like the exact same color blue, Puck asked, as cool as he possibly could, "What do you want from me?"

"Just tell me which one you like better."

Taking a better look and deciding they still looked exactly the same, Puck pointed to the one on the left, earning a big smile from Kurt. Oh, god, he wanted those lips! It took every ounce of willpower he had not to drop everything he was carrying and grab the boy into the most spectacular kiss he'd ever gotten.

Instead, Kurt broke eye contact and said to Rachel, practically sticking out his tongue at her, "See? Puck agrees with me!"

What seemed like days later, they were loading up Kurt's SUV and driving back to the Hummel-Hudson house, everyone singing along to Journey once Kurt gave Puck permission to change the station. Hey, that was getting somewhere, right?

* * *

_I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night._

While he was downstairs, changing into his coveralls and an old pair of sneakers, Kurt decided that the day was going well, despite having to fight Rachel tooth and nail over every single thing. But Finn seemed pleased with the paint colors they'd picked out, deciding them masculine enough for his tastes. And Puck had been quiet, zoned out almost, but had smiled back at Kurt a few times, a sight that made Kurt's stomach do flip flops and refuse lunch when the rest of his friends went in together on a pizza.

_That tonight's gonna be a good night_

The note on the refrigerator from his dad and Carole mentioned that they decided to go away for the night to escape the noise and the paint fumes. And please not to burn down the house or have any more pregnancy scares. But to work as late as they wanted to. This meant that they could have Puck stay over! Would he even want to?

_Tonight's the night, let's live it up  
I got my money, let's spend it up_

Puck had done very little to reveal himself the way Kurt wanted him to. It was important that Kurt let the boy make himself known on his own terms. Rachel had said more than once, and Kurt agreed, that no one could push Puck into anything. Just like with joining Glee, he had to do it for his own reasons, on his own time. But that didn't mean Kurt couldn't help things along a little…

_Go out and smash it like oh, my God  
Jump off that sofa. Let's get, get off_

This situation called for heroic measures if Kurt wanted to make Puck his, so he decided to forgo wearing anything other than an old t-shirt under his coveralls, so the collar would show. Then, he texted to Puck: _I'm taking a page out of your book and going commando this afternoon. _

_I know that we'll have a ball,  
If we get down and go out and just lose it all._

_Let's paint the town, we'll shut it down  
Let's burn the roof, and then we'll do it again._

The message must have taken a minute to send, because Puck's phone beeped shortly after Kurt got back up to Finn's room. Puck didn't text back, but he did blush something fierce and snap his phone shut again after reading the message. Kurt pretended to ignore the boy's reaction, but smiled secretly to himself. Oh, yes. This could get very interesting.

_Tonight's the night  
Let's live it up._

_I got a feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night._

* * *

_Song used: "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas_

_Remember, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow (Friday), so you won't have to wait too long to see the rest of this night play out. Oh, and __**don't forget to review**__!_


	6. Falling

_A/N: Here is the next chapter as promised! It's a little longer than I was thinking it would be, but I think you'll forgive me…_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 6 - Falling

How could that little weasel do this to Puck? Not that he _knew _what he was doing. Kurt probably thought his text was sexy and fun, like all of the other messages they'd been trading back and forth over the last two weeks. He didn't know that now Puck had to be in the same room as him, watching Kurt climb up and down that ladder, watching him lean over to show Rachel how to paint the corners right, watching him laugh with Finn when Rachel got blue paint in her hair.

Puck was hard and aching within ten minutes, and there was nothing he could do about it. Even the old standbys, thinking about his grandmother's teeth and the time Finn dared him to eat a whole case of corndogs and he ended up puking all over Finn's mom, didn't work. Nothing was getting his mind off how little fabric there was between Puck and the parts of Kurt the boy had denied him all week.

"Wow, it's getting kind of late!" Rachel announced all of a sudden. "Is anyone else starving?"

"I could eat," Kurt mentioned, "as long as it's not too fattening." Oh, that boy and his eating habits! If Puck didn't find it so endearing, he probably would have thought it insane.

So Puck said, "C'mon, Hummel. You're a football player now. You could use a little more meat on those bones."

"I'll-" Kurt started, before cutting himself off and blushing. "Um, food sounds good." What the hell had he almost said? It was probably something dirty, wasn't it? Damn it, now Puck almost had to ask. But he couldn't.

"Alright," Rachel smiled. "You two stay here and keep working while Finn and I go pick something up. I know just the place!"

"Wait," Puck said, following after the couple as they tried to leave him alone. With Kurt! His heart was beating overtime at the prospect. "You sure you don't need help? Carrying or whatever?"

"Dude!" Finn hissed back at him, waving Rachel ahead. "Quit cock-blocking me here, bro! Rach just told me she was ready for second base!"

"Fine," Puck sighed, knowing how long his friend had been waiting for this development. "Just don't take forever, or I'm bailing, free food or no."

"Yeah," Finn nodded with a dopey smile. "Yeah, we won't be too long."

Like a man walking toward the electric chair, Puck shuffled back down the hallway to Finn's room. All the furniture and stuff was piled in the center of the room, covered with plastic sheeting, and at first Puck didn't see Kurt. But then the boy stepped out from behind the pile with a sheepish smile and bent to refill his roller tray with more paint. As he did this task and Puck found himself watching, Kurt said, "It's okay if you don't want to be alone with me, Noah. I know I make some people uncomfortable."

"No!" Puck insisted at the dejected tone in Kurt's voice. Scared of how Kurt might take that denial, Puck put his badass voice back on and said, "Nah, man. I'm cool. I just didn't want to starve to death while the love birds stare into each other's freaking eyes."

"Oh!" Kurt said brightly, eyes still focused on his task as he tipped back the paint can and wiped the rim with a cloth. "Shall we then?"

Puck nodded and went back to painting his section of the wall, wondering if that tingling on the back of his neck was Kurt watching him. Calling out, Puck said, "This is boring, Hummel. You got any music? Like, something _good_?"

"While our definitions of good are drastically different," came Kurt's reply, "I think I can get my dad's shop stereo and find something appropriate."

Puck nodded without turning around to look at the boy, sighing to himself when he was sure Kurt was gone. This was his stupid fucking life. Being stuck here, owing friends favors, not wanting to go back to his own house, and lusting after someone he couldn't let himself have. Maybe he should stop texting and kissing Kurt so much and go find someone else. A girl. Maybe a college chick. He could pass for older, especially since he got his fake ID. Puck briefly thought about making a beer run in case he felt the need to drown in the foam later, but he knew if he lowered his inhibitions tonight, nothing good would come of it. Plus that goody-two-shoes Rachel would probably pitch a fit.

When Kurt got back, he met Puck's questioning eye with a smile and snapped a CD into place. After the first few chords, Puck asked, "Tom Petty?"

"Yeah," Kurt replied. "My dad is pretty exclusively dedicated to John Mellencamp, but this is one of the few non-Cougar albums he owns. I thought you would appreciate it." Kurt shrugged like it was no big deal, but Puck could tell that it was. He knew Kurt thought he was hot, and really, who didn't? But Puck never imagined that the boy would like the real him enough to voluntarily listen to something that wasn't fruity pop music or show tunes.

_She's a good girl_,

Puck found himself singing along as he went back to painting, the guitar chords itching to get out through his fingers.

_Loves her momma,  
Loves Jesus,  
And America too._

Puck started thinking about Quinn all of a sudden and how royally boned his relationship with her had gotten. It was over. He'd tricked her into being with him, knocked her up, and broke her heart. It sucked. He sucked. Kurt didn't deserve someone as fucked up as Puck in his life.

_She's a good girl,  
Crazy 'bout Elvis,  
Loves horses,  
And her boyfriend too._

And by tricking Quinn into sleeping with him instead of declaring how he felt and getting her to break up with Finn first, he'd screwed up his relationship with his best friend, too. Why did he always have to be thinking with his dick?

_And it's a long day,  
Livin' in Receda,  
There's a freeway,  
Runnin' through the yard.  
And I'm a bad boy,  
'cause I don't even miss her._

The truth was, he didn't even miss Quinn anymore. Should he? She had his baby and he loved her for that. He still loved her, in a way.

_I'm a bad boy,  
For breakin' her heart._

But he'd broken her heart and it was time to move on. He was free to move on.

_And I'm free!  
(Free fallin' now I'm free fallin' now I'm…)_

Kurt came in with the background vocals, in a lower register than he usually sang. Man that kid had range when he wanted to! And he harmonized right in there with Puck, like it was as easy for him as breathing. Puck could sing, sure. But he worked at it, like, all the time. He wanted to tell Kurt how much he admired the other boy's talent, and how awesome it was that they were singing together, but he couldn't. All he could do was sing about falling.

_Free fallin'!_

Falling in love with Kurt.

* * *

Once Kurt broke out the Tom Petty and Puck started singing along, he knew he'd done something right. That boy had so many things he needed to get off his chest after the whole Babygate issue, with the hard time he was having at home, and now with not letting himself admit what he wanted. Puck sang with such raw intensity and emotion that Kurt found himself singing along without even thinking about it. And then, he inched closer to the other boy, trying to focus on painting the wall, but really just focusing on how close Puck would let him get before finding a new place to paint.

As the song ended, he was standing almost shoulder to shoulder with Puck, and trembling, being allowed to get this close. Would this moment, singing together, change anything between them? Upset the status quo? Or would Puck keep denying that he was Baby?

"Hey, Kurt?" the jock asked, his voice soft over the opening notes of the next song, _I Won't Back Down_.

"Yeah?" he replied, only to have a brush draw a line of cold paint along his cheek because Puck had tricked him and made him turn into it. "You jerk!" Kurt cried as Puck laughed without malice, all his pretty teeth showing, begging somehow for forgiveness. Wiping the paint away with one hand, Kurt attacked Puck with the roller he held in the other, splattering the boy's arms and hands with blue paint as he tried to defend himself. The way Puck was laughing, like he was actually having a good time, made Kurt smile and laugh along with him, abandoning his roller when it went dry and grabbing Rachel's brush from the floor.

Unfortunately, taking that time out gave Puck an opportunity to get back at Kurt by painting a big stripe down the back of his coveralls. "Ha! Got you, Hummel!"

Not one to back down (gee, this song was fitting), Kurt used some of his football and dance training to get around Puck, painting a line on the jock's shirt around the waist as he went. "Got you back," Kurt said triumphantly, skipping back a few steps when Puck lunged at him again.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that!" Puck growled at him, a noise that sounded less scary to Kurt than he thought it ought to. Sexy, almost. Christ, he was getting hard again, playing around with Puck. As he danced backward out of Puck's grasp again and again, he wondered if the other boy was just as bothered or if he was such a badass that he could keep his body in check with no problem.

"Aren't you the running back?" Kurt mocked with a smile as Puck missed him again. "Aren't you supposed to be fast, Puck?" But Kurt placed one foot wrong and ended up tripping back against one of the walls that hadn't been painted yet. And then Puck was there, with one hand pinning Kurt's shoulder to the wall, the other holding up his brush like a weapon. A shudder wracked through Kurt's body as Puck stared at him, an unreadable look in his hazel eyes. Unable to stand the staring contest, Kurt whispered, "Do it."

Kurt didn't know what he was asking for and the startled look in Puck's eye said that the other boy didn't know either. But then he raised one gorgeous eyebrow and smirked, setting his paintbrush against Kurt's chest just under his throat and drawing it down the middle, as slow as he possibly could, spreading the heavy, cold paint as he went. It was the most erotic thing Kurt had ever experienced and his breath came in short little gasps as the brush traveled lower and lower.

"You want me to keep going, don't you?" Puck whispered in Kurt's ear, his hot breath tickling Kurt's neck and leaving it moist as he gulped and nodded. As the brush got lower and lower, Kurt grabbed the wrist that was pinning him back to the wall, squeezing it hard to keep himself standing. Except for the paint, Puck smelled exactly the same as he had the times they had made out and Kurt wanted so badly for that to happen again.

When the brush slid over the tip of his dick, just the thin coverall material between it and him, Kurt groaned unintelligibly, "Ugnnh," and squeezed Puck's wrist tighter, dropping the brush from his other hand. Looking up, he saw that Puck was watching the brush and not Kurt, so the shorter boy grabbed Puck's head with both hands and pulled him into a fevered kiss. Puck's brush finished its downward sweep quickly and dropped to the floor as their kiss grew and grew.

Eventually pulling back, Puck whispered, "Fuck," keeping his eyes down for a few seconds before lifting them to meet Kurt's questioningly.

Going for broke, Kurt swallowed and managed to whisper, "Not even on the fifth date, baby."

Puck jumped back like he'd been burned, his eyes wide and his forehead crinkled in what almost looked like pain. "How…" he started and then stopped, turning away for a few seconds before coming back and meeting Kurt's eyes. "How long have you known?"

Feeling in his gut that it was important to lie and spare Puck's pride some dignity, Kurt said, "I just figured it out when you whispered to me. And you taste the same."

Puck let a hand drift up to his lips, brushing them once mindlessly as his eyes dropped. "Why aren't you freaking out? Shouldn't you be freaking out?"

"You want me to freak out because my hot friend, who I really, _really_ like, wants to kiss me?" Kurt asked in response, trying to calm Puck down with a smile. "I don't see the freak out potential."

Scoffing with a smirk, but still looking a little anxious around the eyes, Puck asked, "So all the being nice to me earlier today? That wasn't because you knew?"

"No!" Kurt lied again. "I was nice to you because I like you, Noah. The real you! I can't believe you wasted so much time not telling me you wanted me."

Nodding like he was in a dream or was really confused, Puck asked, "You're not turned off by my badassness and the fact that I used to bully you?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, standing up away from the wall and taking a tentative step toward Puck. "It kinda turns me on, actually. The badass part, not the bullying."

One of Puck's eyebrows shot up and then back down suggestively. "You won't tell, will you?" he asked, taking his own step toward Kurt like he couldn't help it. Kurt hoped that that was true, that Puck really did want him as much as he seemed to.

"No," the shorter boy replied, lifting up one hand to brush Puck's cheek now that he was close enough. God, he wanted to kiss those lips. Puck leaned into his hand a little before closing the distance between them and pushing Kurt back against the wall.

"What did you say, babe?" Puck whispered again, a sound that made Kurt's cock twitch in excitement. "You want me to make you feel it?"

"God, yes," Kurt agreed, grunting when Puck thrust against him before brushing his lips over Kurt's. His lips brushed a few more times, teasing, before Puck really went in for the kill and forced his tongue into Kurt's mouth.

Somehow, knowing that Puck had finally made his move, had finally revealed his identity to Kurt, made this so much better than it had been in the janitor's closet. Every kiss, every groping squeeze and caress felt ten times more real, and ten times better. The hard front of Puck's jeans kept dragging over Kurt's dick, forcing more pleasure on him than he'd ever felt before, even during their previous make out sessions, pressing and stroking and, "Oh, shit!"

Kurt saw stars and let out the breath he'd been holding in a surprised moan of pleasure as he came, overwhelmed by how Puck seemed to hit everything at once. If the other boy hadn't been holding him up, Kurt was sure he would have slid down the wall bonelessly. Instead, he clutched his arms around Puck's neck tightly, holding on for dear life as his cock pulsed over and over again in his coveralls, making a sticky, wet mess of everything.

"Damn, baby," Puck chuckled, kissing down Kurt's neck, still grinding against Kurt's still hard, but sated, dick. "You've got no stamina, do you?"

Kurt laughed against Puck's neck, trying to think of some way to help the taller boy out. Maybe he would let Kurt touch him? But then, Puck started whispering, "Yeah, babe. Oh, yeah. Fuck, you're so hot," while rocking against him. Kurt found Noah's rhythm and rocked in time with him, kissing the boy's neck and lips, and holding on tightly. "Fuck. God damn, Kurt. Yes!" He felt the other boy's body seize up and then his cock was bucking against Kurt's as Puck buried his face in Kurt's shoulder. "Oh, yes, baby!"

They kissed again and Kurt chuckled at the sleepy, almost dopey expression on Puck's face as he pulled back. "You sure talk a lot, Noah," he whispered, before kissing the other boy's nose. "That was…"

"Fucking hot," Puck finished, kissing Kurt again lazily before smiling against his lips. "I can't believe it finally happened."

"You and me both, sweetie," Kurt smiled, hugging Puck close and kissing the side of his neck. His plan to tease Puck into breaking had worked! And Holy Dolce, things had gone even further than Kurt thought they would. This boy really had no impulse control, did he? Kurt's greatest fear, that Puck would run as soon as he was found out, hadn't happened. Not yet anyway.

* * *

"Are you good?" Kurt asked Puck softly.

"Yeah," he replied, face still in the other boy's shoulder, "I came. Thought it was kinda obvious."

"No," Kurt chuckled against his neck, tickling the short hairs there with his breath. "Are you good with this? Being with me?"

Was Puck okay with this? Getting with Kurt had been the goal of his whole plan, hadn't it? He didn't want just another stupid hook up with the guy. He liked the way Kurt talked back to him and how urgently he kissed and how he smiled at receiving one of Puck's texts when he thought no one was looking. Puck wanted someone to actually love him for once. Even if it was a guy. At least the sex was damn hot so far. That was something to stick around for, at least.

But what would happen when Kurt got fed up with keeping this a secret? He couldn't ask Kurt to keep it on the down low forever. He knew from being with Quinn that secrecy and love should have nothing to do with each other. He was free to date whoever he wanted, right? Though he could imagine everything they would say about him if this went public. They'd call him a fag and a homo and, on a bad day, a cocksucker. His mom wouldn't approve at all since Andy would turn her against him, and she was still mad at him for getting Quinn knocked up, even though everything was okay and the baby had a good home with that Vocal Adrenaline lady. Would his mom go as far as kicking him out?

After a long pause, while still holding onto Kurt tightly, Puck whispered, "I don't know." Sighing at the way Kurt stiffened in his arms and tried to push him away, questioning his badassness with that look that said he was a damn coward, Puck continued, "But I wanna _try_, Kurt. I do."

Relaxing in Puck's arms, Kurt sniffed away what appeared to be a tear and said, "Well, good. Because like I told you, I'm a real person. I can't just be who you go to when you get the urge to be with a guy."

"Just you, baby," Puck reassured him. "Only you."

"And I can't wait for you to come out forever," Kurt insisted. "I'm giving you until Sectionals, Puck. If you're not ready by then to admit to everyone that we're together, it's over."

"Two weeks?" Puck asked, pulling back and noticing how dead serious Kurt's expression was. He had known Kurt would want to be open and honest about any relationship he was in, but how could Puck be ready in two weeks? "But I'm only, like, half gay. Do I really have to come out?"

"Yes," Kurt insisted. "If you want to get all up on this," the boy waved his hand up and down to indicate the body Puck was really falling in love with, "you've got to tell everyone you're … half gay isn't a real thing…" Puck raised one eyebrow at the boy in his arms, insisting that it was a real thing. "Fine, you're the mythical bisexual man! That's what you've got to tell everyone. Or at least, let them know by making out with me in public, where everyone can see."

"I'll show you mythical…" Puck growled, trying to ignore Kurt's demands and kiss him instead. But the shorter guy wasn't having any of it, pushing him back and giving him the hard evil-eye, just like Quinn used to. Damn. Puck thought Kurt would have given him most of the school year before making an ultimatum like this. Wasn't he waiting for Finn to come around for years? Could Puck get his shit together within two weeks? He did want to be with Kurt, he wanted to give the boy what he deserved, what he had been waiting for. "Alright!" Puck agreed. "Two weeks. I'll try to make it happen."

Kurt smiled and opened his mouth to reply, when a door slammed on the other end of the house and Rachel called out, "Guys! We've got food in the kitchen!"

Puck jumped away from the shorter boy for the second time that afternoon, not yet ready to be caught with his secret-maybe-boyfriend. As Kurt watched him, the boy's eyes glanced downward and widened before he broke out into laughter. "What?" Puck asked, looking down to see that the crotch of his pants was smeared with paint. Paint that had rubbed off of Kurt's overalls and onto his pants. Paint that Puck had put there in the first place and should have known better than to grind against!

"We match!" Kurt guffawed, blushing bright red.

"Oh, shit!" Puck cried, trying to brush the paint away and failing miserably. "We can't let them see us like this!"

"C'mon," Kurt smiled, catching Puck's hand and tugging on it. "We can get down into my room without going by the kitchen. We'll get cleaned up."

"But…" he complained, knowing he didn't have a change of clothes and there was no way he'd let Kurt dress him, despite how much he wanted to gnaw on that boy's neck and give him a hickey the size of Amsterdam. He was still _a dude_, god damn it!

"_Trust_ me," Kurt smiled, hurrying down the hallway with Puck scrambling in his wake. He opened the basement door and shoved Puck through, calling out toward the kitchen, "We've got a wardrobe malfunction, guys! Puck and I will be there in a minute!" Then, he slammed the door shut behind him and urged Puck down the stairs.

"Whoa," the boy said when he saw the room below. "I can see why Finn flipped out over this."

"Yeah," Kurt replied, blushing again. "You don't like it either, do you?"

"Well, it's not a dude's room," Puck said, reaching for one of the pillows on the couch before he realized that he still had paint all over his hands. "But it's cool. Reminds me of, like, one of those middle eastern sex rooms, you know? Where the king keeps all his ladies?"

"A harem?" Kurt asked, mildly offended. "You think my room looks like a _harem_?"

"Well, yeah," Puck insisted with a smile, reaching over to kiss Kurt again. "Wanna be my sex slave?"

"Oh," Kurt stammered with wide eyes before getting angry at the cocky, self-righteous smirk Puck let jump onto his face. "I'm no one's slave, Noah. But, if you behave," he shot back with more force, heading for the bathroom, "you could be _mine_."

Damn, if that didn't sound nice at the moment. Unless Kurt meant…? But that was a question for another time, wasn't it? Puck followed Kurt into the bathroom and took the smelly soap the boy gave him to get the paint off his hands. "This isn't working, babe," Puck called after him as Kurt left the room. "You need paint thinner to get this shit off."

"Just try to get as much as you can, Noah," Kurt called from the main room and Puck wondered if the boy was changing. Yes, he had. Kurt returned, wearing a new set of coveralls, carrying a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, his hands miraculously clean. How the hell had he done that? "I don't want you ruining my present."

"Present?" Puck asked hopefully.

Smiling, Kurt set the jeans down on the bathroom counter and unfurled the t-shirt, saying, "I thought you, or Baby, I guess, would like it." It was a Def Leppard t-shirt from their 1987 _Hysteria_ tour. And his chest clenched up with excitement when he realized it looked like it was in really good condition!

"Where the fuck did you get this?" Puck asked, drying off his hands as best he could before he dared touch it.

"From a friend," Kurt shrugged. "Do you like it?"

"Hell, yeah!" Puck crowed, grabbing the back of Kurt's head and kissing him fiercely. "I used to have my dad's old one until my sister ruined it. You have no idea…" Shit, he was tearing up like a little girl, wasn't he? What a fucking loser he was turning into! "Thank you, Kurt."

"You're welcome," the other boy smiled, obviously dazzled by Puck's studly kiss. "And I hope the jeans fit. They're baggy ones from my very brief Mellencamp phase, so they might be long enough."

"God," Puck sighed, still smiling. "I can't wear this until we're done painting, but I'll definitely change my pants." Reaching down, he popped the button of his jeans with a smirk.

"Hang on there, cowboy," Kurt blushed, taking the Def Leppard shirt and turning to leave the bathroom. "I'm not quite ready to go there yet."

"I thought you loved that picture I sent you," Puck teased, grabbing his zipper and slowly inching it downward. "After what's happened this past week, don't want to see the real thing?"

"Oddly, no," Kurt confessed, stopping at the bathroom door and keeping his back turned. "I want to see you when I have time to appreciate it. And when I'm not so freaking nervous."

Puck laughed, shucking off his jeans and wetting a wash cloth to clean up a little before slipping on the new ones. They fit alright, even if they were a little small and a little short. "You can look now."

"This isn't like the paintbrush incident is it?" Kurt asked. "I'm not going to turn around to find your dick in my mouth, am I?"

Puck laughed even harder, though he did shiver at the suggestion. "No, babe. I promise." Kurt turned to face him and smiled, letting Puck take the shirt from his hands and set it aside before wrapping the smaller boy in his arms. "I'm going to try really hard to make this work, Kurt."

"Good," he replied, bending his neck just so, an obvious invitation for Puck to kiss it.

* * *

_Song used: "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty_

_So, what did you think? Did I get these two crazy kids together the right way or what?_


	7. No One Knows

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 7 – No One Knows

Kurt and Puck got through dinner with Finn and Rachel, and the rest of the evening painting without incident, except for the time Puck leaned in close to Kurt and asked if he was still going commando, receiving a short and swift, "No!" Kurt didn't want his back-up pair of coveralls ruined too. Instead, he and Puck just talked with Finn and Rachel about random things, like real friends would. Except that Finn definitely didn't know what was going on between his two friends and Rachel only knew a little bit.

_We get some rules to follow  
That and this  
These and those.  
No one knows._

Kurt thought about telling Rachel how things had developed that evening, but he felt like he didn't want to spoil it by letting her in on the surprise just yet. She'd been so good so far, Kurt felt like his luck with her had to be running out. And it felt nice, having Noah just to himself for a little while.

_We get these pills to swallow  
How they stick  
In your throat.  
Taste like gold._

As Queens of the Stone Age came up on Finn's iPod, Puck asked, "If things between your dad and Finn's mom hadn't worked out, would you have gone after my mom next?"

"No," Kurt replied shortly, smiling at Rachel when she caught his eye. She might not know exactly how far things had gotten, but she'd definitely noticed how things had warmed up between Kurt and Puck.

_Oh, what you do to me.  
No one knows._

"Why not? My mom's an awesome lady!" Oh, that was so sweet! Of course Puck was a momma's boy! And, Kurt realized, probably still upset over what had happened with his mom's boyfriend last night. Kurt had seen how the guy put Puck down and then tried to touch him uninvited. No student would do that and live, and Kurt could tell Puck had been very close to bringing some Puckzilla wrath down on the guy even though he was an adult. Hopefully Kurt's explanation would not incur such wrath.

"Because," he began, patting Puck's shoulder in a way he hoped wasn't too familiar for the other boy to handle, "you're always talking about how your mom is obsessed with being Jewish. My dad's German, or our ancestors were, anyway. I don't think fixing them up would have been wise."

"Oh," Puck nodded, hitting Finn when his friend chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, good thinkin', Hummel." The boy gave Kurt a smile that melted everything from his hair to his toes and Kurt wondered how Finn could still be oblivious to what was going on.

_And I realize you're mine  
Indeed a fool am I._

After a few minutes more of painting and singing along to the music, Puck asked, "Does that mean you'd never date a Jew?"

_And I journey through the desert  
Of the mind  
With no hope  
And I follow._

"Of course I would," Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes. "I have no racial preferences for who my future love interest may be. He just has to be cute."

"Besides," Rachel spoke up, "Jewish heritage is passed down on the mother's side. Everyone knows that. Your mom just wants you to date a Jewish girl so all your babies will be Jewish."

"Too late," Puck muttered, setting down his paintbrush with a sigh. After a moment, he grumbled, "I need some sort of plan. To break up my mom and her boyfriend."

"I'll see what I can do," Rachel said right away, sticking her tongue out as she painted the wall vigorously.

"Really?" Puck asked. "What? Do you owe me or something?"

"No," the girl replied simply. "But we're friends, right? I've been trying to be a better friend lately; just ask Kurt! And I'm sure he and Finn would like to help too, right guys?"

"Sure," Finn nodded, and Kurt joined him in agreeing to help.

_Well I drift along the ocean  
Dead lifeboats  
In the sun  
Then come undone._

Puck sent another sly smile Kurt's way, and his heart fluttered. Would it ever stop doing that? Would Noah always be able to discombobulate Kurt with a look? Or was it just because everything between them was so new?

_Pleasantly caving in here  
I come undone.  
And I realize you're mine.  
Indeed a fool am I._

Eventually, Puck jerked his head toward the mostly-painted wall and asked, "Are we almost done?"

"Maybe it _is_ time for a break," Finn agreed. "Or for some sleep."

"Is there," Rachel smiled up at Finn and batted her eyelashes in a way that Kurt really had to learn to emulate, "any way I could stay with you, Finn? In your room?"

"Aren't you supposed to be home, good girl?" Puck asked. "Won't your dads come looking for you?"

"Oh," Rachel smiled. "I already told them I was spending the night with Tina. Her parents are out of town, though, so they can't say whether I'm there or not."

"Did they have to go to a vampire conference?" Finn asked, and everyone raised an eyebrow at his apparent stupidity. "Relax, guys! I was just kidding!" Kurt and Puck shared an amused look and Kurt knew that this was only the beginning. Soon enough he would be able to hold Puck's hand all the time like Rachel held Finn's. He would be able to flirt with Puck around other people and no one would bat an eye. But for now? It was kind of nice that no one knew.

Fifteen minutes later, Finn and Rachel were holed up in Finn's room after uncovering his bed from the pile of furniture and tarps, Puck was on the living room couch, and Kurt was down in his bedroom, alone. He wondered if he could have invited Puck to stay with him, since his bed was obviously more comfortable than that lumpy couch. However, he was afraid of how fast things were moving with Puck. Just two weeks ago they'd started flirting (sexting) and now they were an actual couple who made out and did sex-like things. Puck might be used to moving that fast, but Kurt sure wasn't. Before Puck, he'd only made out with Brittany, and that hadn't done anything for him. It was pleasant, but it didn't get his blood boiling like Puck's kisses did.

Would he have to have actual sex with Puck before the month was up, to keep him from running off? Or would other stuff be enough for now? Other stuff was great, Kurt decided. Other stuff was fantastic. But to have actual sex with an actual person? With Puck? That was scary. That was something Kurt wanted to save for someone he knew he could trust and someone he knew for sure that he loved. That was something that would have to wait until he was absolutely ready. He only hoped that Puck would understand.

* * *

Puck tried falling asleep on that god awful couch, but he was dressed in jeans that were too small and a t-shirt that stunk like paint and turpentine. It just wasn't happening. So, Puck sneaked down into the basement, using his phone as a flashlight and was glad to see Kurt was sound asleep, some sort of mask over his eyes. First things first, Puck raided Kurt's underwear drawer, trying not to get too worked up over the idea of Kurt modeling these briefs for him, and rummaged around until he found a pair of boxers that were obviously a joke gift, because they were too big for the boy and had a smiley face right on the fly.

Chuckling to himself, Puck changed from his jeans into those boxers and then found the Def Leppard shirt Kurt had given him, smiling when he found it fit perfectly. Not too loose, so the sleeves showed off his guns, but not so tight that he looked like a man wearing a toddler's clothes. Pleased with his new duds, Puck slid into bed with Kurt, curling himself around the boy. "I promise," he whispered in the darkness like a fucking sentimental tool, "I won't disappoint you, Kurt. I won't."

* * *

Pretending to be asleep behind his beauty mask, Kurt tried to make out Puck's whispered words over the crazy beating of his heart. It was something about a promise. "…won't disappoint…" he'd said. Was this the actual Noah Puckerman, or had an alien taken over his body some time during the summer? He wasn't supposed to be sweet, but he was. He wasn't supposed to like guys, but he did. He wasn't supposed to be sleeping in Kurt's bed, wrapped around him like a lover from a chick-flick, but there Puck was, spooning him in the darkness.

_Heaven smiles above me  
What a gift  
Here below  
But no one knows._

This was way, _way_ better than texting goodnight.

_Gift that you give me  
No one knows._

* * *

Kurt woke up to big feet pounding down his stairs and Finn's voice saying, "Hey, Kurt! Have you seen Puck?" Well, Kurt hadn't _seen_ him, but he was pretty sure that was Puck breathing on the back of his neck, still sound asleep. Could that boy sleep through a tornado, or something? But, there were more pressing, heart-up-in-one's-throat matters at hand, weren't there? Kurt pulled off his mask and tried to hop out of bed to stop Finn from looking around the privacy partition, but he was weighed down by a heavy leg tangled in his and a strong arm around his chest. If he could just wake…

"Holy shit!" Finn said when he cleared the privacy screen, quickly turning back toward the stairs, presumably so he wouldn't have to see Kurt in bed with his best friend. "What the hell is going on?"

"Finn!" Rachel cried from the top of the stairs. "I told you not to bother Kurt! Puck probably went home! Can't I leave you alone for more than two seconds?"

Funnily enough, it was Rachel's shrill voice that woke up the boy holding onto Kurt, making him mumble, "Just a few more minutes, Ma!"

Scared for his relationships with Puck and the others and having had about enough of this back and forth yelling, Kurt shook Puck awake, saying, "Noah, sweetie. Would you like to tell us what you're doing in my bed? Finn really would like to know."

"I'm where?" Puck asked, blinking his eyes as he loosened his hold on the shorter boy. "Oh, right," he sighed, picking his head up to look over Kurt to where Finn was standing, back still towards them. "That couch of yours is fucking uncomfortable, bro. I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to crawl into bed with Kurt?" Finn shook his head, almost laughing. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, Puck."

"Don't bust a nut, dude," Puck replied, sitting up and allowing Kurt to as well. "I can cuddle up with my boyfriend if I want to."

Kurt beamed at Puck when the other boy set a hand on the back of his neck, giving him one of those patented Puckerman charm smiles that said everything was going to be fine. Puck was willing to tell Finn about them being together, so that was the first and maybe one of the more difficult hurdles to get over. Kurt only hoped that Finn wouldn't disown Puck as a friend or something stupid like that.

"Boyfriend?" Finn asked, turning around to face them, his eyes going wide when he saw them smiling at each other. "I know I'm kinda oblivious sometimes, but when did this happen?"

"Recently," Puck shrugged, giving Kurt a one-armed hug before getting out of bed and stepping towards Finn. "Why? We gonna have a problem, Hudson?" Wait, was he wearing the smiley-face boxers that Finn had given Kurt for his birthday? He should have known that Puck would be drawn them because he was such a _boy_ most of the time.

"No," Finn shook his head, but raised his eyebrows at what he could see of Puck's boxers under the t-shirt he was wearing. "Hey, you have a pair of those, too?" Checking Kurt's face, Finn saw something that made him guess and the truth and say, "Oh. Alright … Okay. This is weird."

"What?" Kurt asked, finally feeling the need to get out of bed, and glad he was wearing his best pair of long, silk pajamas. "The fact that I have a boyfriend, or the fact that he's your best friend?"

"Both," Finn replied, looking back to where Rachel stood on the stairs. She mouthed at Kurt, "I'm sorry," looking deeply regretful that she hadn't been able to keep tabs on her boyfriend. Then, Finn turned to Puck and said, "I didn't even know you liked dudes, Puck! I'm _supposed_ to be your best friend. I guess I'm hurt that you didn't tell me."

"You're not going to call me names?" Puck asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "Or try to kick my ass? You're just sad I didn't tell you I had a crush on one guy?"

"Yeah," Finn nodded, meeting first Puck's eyes and then Kurt's. "I thought we were trying to put things right between us after what happened with Quinn. But if you didn't think you could tell me something this big…?" Finn shook his head and left the room without saying anything else, sparing one last glance at both Puck and Kurt before he got all the way up the stairs.

"I'm so sorry, you guys," Rachel insisted. "I didn't think you'd actually be _together_ together."

Puck turned to Kurt and asked, "She knew about us before?" like Kurt had done something unthinkable by telling Rachel fucking Berry about them. "How? You only just found out who I was last night!"

"Noah," Kurt began, easing into the conversation delicately because he was scared of the angry expression on Puck's face. "I've known it was you since the day after you first texted me. Rachel's been helping me deal. Yesterday was her idea, to get us together for real. And it worked!"

"So all that crap you said about being nice to me because you liked the real me was bullshit?" Puck asked, now looking exceptionally hurt, his eyebrows all mushed together.

"Rachel," Kurt said, keeping his eyes with Puck's. "Would you please give us a few minutes alone?"

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'll go talk to Finn."

Once she was gone, Kurt blinked and told Noah, "It _wasn't_ bullshit. I _do_ like you. I have to admit I didn't have more than an abstract attraction to you until you started texting, but ever since then, I've felt myself falling for you, Noah. Both the person you are in messages and when we met those times in the dark, _and_ the person you are everywhere else."

"I thought I could _trust_ you," Puck growled without even taking a moment to listen to what Kurt was trying to say. He found his jeans – the real ones with paint all over the crotch – and pulled them on angrily, asking, "Why couldn't you tell me the truth from the start?"

Pulling on Puck's arm to get him to listen, Kurt insisted, "Because you weren't _ready_, Puck! You weren't ready to see me as anything more than a living fantasy. You weren't ready to be in a _relationship_ with me."

"Maybe I'm still not ready," the jock snarled, pulling off t-shirt he'd been given and throwing it at Kurt before finding his paint-splattered one.

Before Puck could put it on and walk out the door, Kurt stood on the first step of the stairs, blocking his way up, and yelled, "No! Don't you dare put this on me Noah Puckerman! You _promised_ you would _try_! You promised you would make this work and try to be with me in a way that I could be happy and proud about. You promised you wouldn't disappoint me!"

Puck stood below Kurt, holding his shirt in his hands and hanging his head like he expected Kurt to keep on yelling. Like he expected Kurt to call him a myriad of hurtful names and curse the day he was born. Well, Kurt wouldn't do that. All he would do was remind Puck what he was fighting for. Giving it one last go, Kurt muttered, "I thought maybe I could learn to love you."

They stood there, both unmoving, for what felt like ages, Puck shirtless, wearing messed up jeans with the bright-yellow waistband of Kurt's boxers showing, Kurt in his gray-silk pajamas, teetering back and forth on the bottom stair, heart pumping overtime for what he was on the brink of losing.

* * *

This wasn't going right _at all_. Puck had decided that this thing with Kurt was real and he was going to fess up to it one step at a time, starting with Finn and Rachel. That was supposed to be a good thing. But now Finn was mad at him for leaving out the fact that Puck was sexting Finn's step-brother, even though it was none of his damn business. Though, he did have a point about them supposedly being best friends. Friends told each other that kind of shit, didn't they? How hard would it have been to say, "Hey, Finn. I'm totally digging that Kurt guy lately. Thought you should know?"

Finn would have laughed in his face and called it a bad joke.

Add on top of that the fact that Kurt had known who he was for almost the whole time and had lied about it when asked point blank. Puck thought that this relationship was going to be real, but now he found out it was based on a lie. And Kurt was a damn liar and wasn't worth his time!

Except that he hadn't lied about anything important, had he? He hadn't lied about what he liked and disliked. He hadn't lied about being attracted to Puck. He probably wasn't even lying about liking Noah for who he really was. Kurt said he lied to make Puck feel better about himself. For a chance at something real, could Puck forgive him one white, little lie?

It wasn't like Puck was a saint. He lied all the time, to his mom and his teachers. He lied to the school nurse every day when he needed a nap. He lied to Santana when he said he still wanted to get with her whenever she was available. He lied to Olivia when she asked if there were no hard feelings. He lied to Quinn when he'd said she was protected. He lied to Finn all those times when he let his best friend believe the baby was his. Puck was a liar. Kurt wasn't. And if Puck left now, he _would_ be breaking all those promises he'd made. He'd be going back on his word in a way that wasn't little and wasn't white. Turning his back on Kurt would be one big, fat, black lie and the thought of leaving felt like it would probably kill him in the long run.

"Ugh," he said, finally breaking the silence. "It's too early for this shit, Kurt. Can we just start today over?"

"Yeah, baby," the boy whispered, daring to come closer and keeping his eyes on Puck like he was an animal that would spook and run away at any sudden movement. "Yeah, we can go back to bed and start today over like none of this ever happened."

"Okay," Puck nodded, dropping his shirt on the ground and giving Kurt his hand so that the other boy could lead him back to the bed. When they got there, Kurt reached for the fly of Puck's jeans with trembling fingers, undoing the button and the zipper and letting them fall from Puck's waist.

Kurt chuckled at the boxers he was wearing and said, "They look good on you. Yellow's definitely your color."

"Yeah, I figured you weren't gonna be using them anytime soon," Puck mumbled, getting into the bed and scooting back to make room for Kurt.

The boy lay down next to him, fitting himself against Puck's chest and letting Puck wrap his arms around him. After a moment Kurt whispered, "Good morning, Noah. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Puck whispered back, playing along with this little game. If there was anything he and Kurt were used to, it was putting on a show.

"When you asked how I knew it was you," Kurt said, swallowing nervously before Puck ran his fingers gently through the other boy's hair. "I should have told you I figured it out when you came to glee the next day with a big marker smudge on your hand. "

Puck laughed softly, "_That's_ how you figured me out?"

"Yeah. Oh, and Rachel wheedled it out of me right away," Kurt added, like now that he was being honest he wanted to be completely honest. "I would have said something, but you were so hell bent on keeping your identity a secret, I couldn't take that away from you. And, Rachel told me not to."

"So you knew it was me when you met me all those times?"

"I did," Kurt smiled, kissing Puck's chin. He'd never before had someone kiss his chin like how Kurt did, and Puck found it endearing and cute. "I wouldn't meet up in a dark closet with just anyone, you know."

"But you would trade dirty pictures," Puck pointed out, laughing when Kurt poked him in the side.

"_Anonymous_ dirty pictures," the shorter boy insisted. "And besides, you started it."

"I did," Puck nodded, slipping his hand behind Kurt's neck and pulling him in for a good, solid kiss. "I just wanted you so much."

Kissing Puck back, Kurt moaned into his mouth and the jock was hard in an instant, ready and willing to start this day off right. "Still want you so much," he whispered against Kurt's neck as he kissed down it, wondering where the perfect place would be to leave a hickey. Even if he wasn't ready to tell everyone at school, he could leave a mark that would say Kurt was claimed by someone. A mark to say someone was falling in love with the gay boy that everyone liked to pick on. A mark to say, back off. This guy's mine and screw anyone who would dare mess with him.

When Puck's hands found Kurt's ass and squeezed, pulling his lower body closer to Puck's, Kurt gasped and put a solid hand on Puck's chest. Had he mentioned how hot it was that Kurt was just _stronger_ than most of the girls he'd been with? (Santana was the exception. She was a fucking wiry!) Whispering, Kurt said, "I'm not ready for everything, Noah. You'll have to go kind of slow with me."

"How slow are we talking here?" Puck whispered, pushing back against Kurt's hand and trying to get close enough to nip at his lips. "Was last night too much?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, giving in and letting Puck kiss him for a few seconds. "Last night was perfect. But I don't know how much further I can go. Probably touching. Oh, touching would be good." Puck chuckled at the need in Kurt's voice as Puck rubbed his hands up and down the other boy's ass. "But not actual sex. Sex is, like, varsity level. And I'm still a freshman when it comes to all of this."

"Okay, sure," Puck nodded. Handjobs were good, especially when he thought about Kurt's hands wrapping around his cock. Shit, would he do that right now? Or was it going to be over the clothes for awhile longer? "We'll take a long time working our way up to sex. Hell, if we have to stop at blowjobs for a good year, I'm cool with that, babe."

"I…" Kurt whispered, his neck all flushed under Puck's lips. "I don't know how to do that."

Puck laughed, tugging on Kurt's earlobe with his teeth before whispering, "I don't either. But it should be fun figuring it out, don't you think?"

"Eventually," Kurt agreed, and Puck pulled the other boy onto his chest, his breath hitching a beat when he felt Kurt's dick bump into his. Raising his knees and using his thighs on Kurt's hips to get the other boy's cock to line up next to his, Puck thrust upwards, watching his boyfriend's face loosen in pleasure as he groaned, "Nnnghh!"

Needing to reassure himself as much as Kurt that they were together and everything between them was okay, Puck kissed Kurt gently as they ground together, letting him feel that this wasn't just about sex. Okay, maybe this moment was _mostly_ about sex, but it was also about how much they cared about each other. Kurt caught onto his rhythm before too long, figuring out how to use his toes as leverage so he could thrust back against him, forcing shivers throughout Puck's body and a sharp flare of pleasure through his crotch. Damn, he could get used to this.

* * *

_Song used: "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age_

_Please Review! Was Finn's reaction understandable? What about Puck's decision to stay?_


	8. I'm In

_A/N: The chapter after this one will be posted on Tuesday. I'm hoping to stick to a Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday posting schedule. Hopefully I won't kill too many of you with cliffhangers. Because, I mean, who would write all the reviews I love getting if you're all dead?_

_On a similar note, this is now my most-reviewed story, and I have a 24-chapter story on here! Way to go Gleeks! Also, if you're a fan of Bones or Buffy/Angel, I have a bunch more slash on my profile that you might enjoy!_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 8 – I'm In

After Noah got dressed and left, Kurt showered and got ready for the day before going to talk to Finn. The boy was alone in his room, trying to fold one of the plastic tarps and doing a horrible job of it. "Here," Kurt said in exasperation, "let me do that."

"Thanks," Finn replied, ducking his head away and abandoning the tarp in favor of moving his dresser back against the wall.

"Rachel went home?"

Finn nodded, grunting as he moved the heavy piece of furniture, "Puck went home?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, looking around the room and wondering what he could possibly say. Eventually he just went with, "You and Rach did a good job finishing everything off."

Finn nodded again, but didn't say anything for a long time. Careful of his clothes, Kurt just set about helping Finn clean up. When he couldn't take it anymore, Kurt asked his almost-brother, "Are you mad at me?"

"Nah," Finn shook his head before collapsing back on his bed.

"Then what?" Kurt asked, perching on Finn's desk chair and watching the other boy.

Staring at the ceiling, Finn sighed before saying, "I guess I'm just thrown, you know? I mean, I figured you'd date a guy eventually, and I'm cool with that," he insisted. "I just thought ... I thought he'd be more like you."

"Effeminate?" Kurt tried, rolling his eyes at Finn's furrowed-brow look of confusion. "Girly?"

"Yeah," Finn agreed, sitting up. "I never, in a million years, thought that someone like Puck would be into guys. I mean, you remember. He was the one who came up with the whole 'Homo Explosion' thing."

Kurt nodded ruefully, "Oh, I remember."

"Then why are you with him? I know he's my best friend and everything," Finn sighed, "but he's kind of an ass. He can't be good for you."

"He's been better this year," Kurt said, the same argument he'd been giving himself over and over again since figuring out it was the popular jock who was sexting him. "And I think maybe most of his anti-gay talk was to keep anyone from guessing the truth about him."

Finn had an odd, strained look on his face as he stared into the corner of the room before asking, "Are all my friends gay?"

Kurt laughed. "Oh, if only..."

"But..." Finn huffed in annoyance. "Who am I gonna talk to about girls? No offense..."

"Finn," Kurt rolled his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and told his almost-brother, "That's ... Puck _insists_ he's bisexual, which I thought was just a cop-out gay guys used. You know, to give their parents hope that someday they'd end up with a girl. In Puck's case, though, I guess it fits."

"Yeah," Finn laughed. "_Of course_ Puck would want to sleep with anything that moves."

"Hey!" Kurt cried in playful complaint before finding an eraser on Finn's desk and chucking it at the boy. Finn laughed as he caught it, falling back onto his bed fake-wounded. After their laughter died down, Kurt said softly, "I'm not going to steal your best friend. He'll still be your friend if you apologize. You can still talk to him about girls and the like."

"I wonder if he's gonna want to talk about _you_?" Finn mused, a slightly disgusted look on his face. "Like he used to talk to me about Santana..."

Kurt blushed and grimaced, "I hope not!"

"Yeah. Like, I'm cool with whatever you wanna do, dude," Finn choked out, "but I don't wanna, like, _hear_ about it all the time."

"Dear Dr. Laura," Kurt began in a 'stage' voice, "I know way too much about my step-brother's sex life and the dinner table has become unbearable. What do I do?"

Finn chuckled, "Totally."

* * *

Monday came too soon and Puck was back at school just the same, but plus one boyfriend. One secret boyfriend for the time being, depending on how mouthy Hudson wanted to get. He hadn't gotten dumpster tossed yet, so that was a start. "Hey, Puck!" a couple of football teammates stopped him at his locker before class. Okay, here it came. Puck was going to have to bust some heads. "Big game on Friday!" Oh yeah, the game. "Think we've got a shot?"

"Yeah, maybe," Puck grinned, his eyes slipping past the jocks to watch Kurt at his locker with Mercedes for just a split-second, "if you two ladies can hold the line long enough for Finn to get me the ball. Otherwise, we'll only get field-goal points from here on out."

"I can't believe that little homo scored all the points in our last game," Sanderson chuckled, shaking his head.

Pursing his lips in anger and flashing back to that one night with Andy, Puck snarled, "Don't call him that, bro! He's our teammate!"

"Fine, dude," Sanderson said, actually looking a little ashamed. "Chill."

Slamming his locker shut, Puck said, "I gotta get to class," and left the two jocks behind, catching up to Mike and Matt as best he could. At least those dudes got it. They were in glee and understood how painful it was for Kurt to be called those names. When Kurt made him go public, those two wouldn't laugh at and make fun of Puck, either.

During first period math class, Finn sat in front of him and passed Puck a note that said, "Sorry I was such a douche. I've got your back."

Smiling, Puck wrote in reply, "Thanks, bro. Best buds?"

When Finn read the note he smiled and nodded, bumping his fist against Puck's before the teacher yelled at him to turn back around. That was cool. He knew Finn wouldn't throw away a friendship that had lasted through Babygate over something this trivial. Not that Puck falling for Kurt was trivial. More like, the fact he didn't tell Finn about it right away was trivial. He would have told his best friend soon enough. Finn must have just been caught off guard finding them together like that. Now he just had the rest of the school to upend in order to make his boy happy.

Huh. Puck liked that thought. Kurt was his boy.

On his way to choir third period, Puck texted Kurt, asking: _Wanna make out during lunch?_

By the time he got an answer, Puck was already slouching in a chair next to Rachel, who he figured could use her evil genius and womanly wiles on Finn, just in case Bigfoot wanted to blow a fuse again. _Can't, _Kurt's reply said. _Mercedes and I are rehearsing. You can hang out with us if you want._

Puck nodded at Kurt politely when he came in, arm-in-arm with the black chick. They were whispering together until Kurt approached him and said, "Noah? Mercedes and I are working on an exciting new number and we need to add a third part to our harmony. Would you like to join us for practice at lunch?"

Sniffing like he wasn't really interested, Puck shrugged and asked, "What's in it for me?"

"Fame," Kurt replied casually, a tone of voice that Puck loved on his boy. And, God! He loved knowing that Kurt was wearing a scarf today because of the mammoth hickey Puck had given him, not for fashion's sake. "Money. Girls. A possible solo at sectionals if Mr. Schue likes our number."

"Cool," Puck nodded. "I'm in."

"Glad to hear it," Kurt replied with a nod and a tiny wink before returning to Mercedes on the other side of the room. Man, this was killing him. Puck couldn't stand being in the same room as Kurt without touching him. He wanted to invite the other boy to come sit on his lap, or at least next to him, but then everyone would know. As nice as it would be, Puck still needed a little more badass in the bank before he admitted his relationship with Kurt in public. Fuck, if all went to plan, in two weeks time he would own this school so completely that he could declare his love for a god damned goat and everyone would still call him a stud. Even assholes like Sanderson, Azimio, and Karofsky.

* * *

Kurt waited nervously in the choir room for Puck and Mercedes to show up, munching on carrot sticks and plinking away on the piano. When someone sat down on the piano bench beside him, facing away from the keys, Kurt could tell by the boy's cologne that it was Puck, chewing away at what smelled like a hamburger. He was going to have to feed that boy some gum before letting Puck kiss him, wasn't he?

Smiling, a melody came to Kurt's mind and his plinking away turned into something coherent as he remembered his way through the minute-long intro. And then, the words tumbled from his lips as Puck sat warm beside him on the bench.

_Under your spell again,  
I can't say no to you.  
Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hands  
I can't say no to you._

Puck chuckled beside him, slipping one arm around Kurt's middle and squeezing lightly.

_Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly,  
Now I can't let go of this dream  
I can't breathe but I feel  
Good enough  
I feel good enough for you_

As Kurt transitioned into the instrumental rest, he felt really good. Puck wasn't laughing about him singing this song; he was just sitting there, holding him and listening. He did feel good enough for Puck. Kurt felt beautiful and talented and, dare he think it, loved? It was a dream, one that he hoped would never end. But if it did...

_Drink up sweet decadence  
I can't say no to you_

Kurt would have continued with the rest of the song, but someone cleared her throat loudly to get their attention and Puck jumped away. Well, that certainly didn't make Kurt feel good enough, now did it?

"What's going on, guys?" Mercedes asked as Kurt turned around to face her and stood up.

Catching Puck's fear-widened eyes, Kurt said, "I wanna tell her."

"Tell me what?" Mercedes asked as Puck shook his head.

"You got to tell your best friend," Kurt pointed out with a harsh glare, all of the magic of the past few minutes gone. Washed away by Puck's fear. "It's only fair."

"You already told Rachel," Puck countered, raising one eyebrow the way Kurt loved.

Noticing Mercedes' surprised and hurt look, probably over the fact that Rachel knew something that she didn't, Kurt hastily insisted, "I didn't mean to!"

"I didn't mean to tell Finn!"

"You said you'd try," Kurt said, with what he hoped was finality, stepping closer to his boyfriend in challenge. "Mercedes can keep a secret."

"Like she kept the baby-daddy secret?" Puck shot back, closing even more of that distance like he wasn't doing it on purpose.

"Whoa, whoa?" Mercedes interjected, getting between the two boys and pushing them apart. "What's the big secret? And what was with the piano cuddle fest?"

Drawing a big sigh, Puck exhaled, "Fine!" throwing his hands up in defeat. "She already half knows anyway!"

"Somebody wanna fill me in on what you two crazies are mouthin' off about?"

"Mercedes," Kurt smiled, grabbing his friend's hands, "as of this weekend, I have a boyfriend."

Mercedes' wide eyes flicked over to Noah, but she still asked, "Who?" like she didn't really want to know.

Kurt jerked his head in Puck's direction, holding Mercedes' hands tight as her face opened up in surprise before closing again in righteous anger. Oh, this was even worse than Kurt had imagined it! "Aw, hell to the naw! What are you doing to my baby boy, Puckerman?" Kurt's grip turned into a wrestling match to keep Mercedes away from Puck.

"What?" the jock cried, hiding behind Kurt with his hands on both of Kurt's hips. "I really like Kurt, Aretha! Would you stop trying to kill me?"

"You don't care about anyone, Puck, except maybe Quinn. But she dumped your sorry ass, so why d'you think it's cool to come after my boy like this?"

"Just because I only dated you because I could get something out of it, doesn't mean I'm doing the same thing here! I swear on my mother! See?" Puck grabbed Kurt's face and pulled him into a kiss that rocked the very earth Kurt stood on! There was passion and love in that kiss, Kurt could feel it despite his limited experience. He tried to give back as good as he got and seemed to do an okay job of it if the way Puck moaned quietly was any indication.

When they broke apart and Puck's sleepy eyes smiled at him, Kurt could have died of happiness. Sweet decadence indeed! Maybe they should kick Mercedes from the room and make out like Puck had suggested. It was just so difficult _not _kissing him. Those damn teenage hormones were going to get him in trouble, weren't they?

When Kurt finally remembered Mercedes still standing next to them he turned to face the music. Instead of being mad, his best friend looked like she was about to cry from happiness. "You guys! How did this happen?"

Checking with Puck before speaking, Kurt said, "Remember that secret admirer I had?" before he gave Mercedes an abridged version of events. "And now we're dating."

"But don't tell anyone yet," Puck warned in his badass voice, though he was still holding Kurt's waist.

"You're gonna be that asshole, huh?" the girl asked him disdainfully. "Pull my boy back in the closet with you?"

"Only for the next two weeks," Kurt insisted, patting Puck's hand on his hip. "Otherwise someone's getting kicked to the curb."

"I've got a plan," Puck said, and Kurt turned to his boyfriend in surprise.

"What sort of plan? And when exactly did you come up with it?"

"Yesterday after I left your house," Puck said. "And we're going to put on such a show, there's no way anyone could have a problem with us. The day before Sectionals, at lunch."

"A performance?" Kurt asked, his chest clenching in excitement. His boyfriend had decided to come out with Kurt in song? "In front of the whole school?"

"Uh-huh," Puck nodded with another one of those brain-melting smiles. "I just need help picking out the perfect song."

"I got ya covered," Mercedes broke in with a smile and Kurt blushed at the fact that he'd been so wrapped up in Puck that he'd forgotten she was there. "I've got some ideas. And who knows? If we can get the rest of Glee in on it, this could be the number that wins us Sectionals!"

"That means telling them sooner rather than later," Kurt pointed out, watching as Puck's face fell. "Just think about it, Noah! Finn, Rachel and Mercedes all know already and we wouldn't even have to bring in Mr. Schue, since Rachel does most of our choreography anyway. We'll all work on it together and have it perfect before anyone else sees."

"Dancing like a mo fo is part of the badass plan," Puck muttered. "And Schue said we needed that to win Sectionals this year. Let me think about it for a few days?" Kurt could feel his heart drop in disappointment. He should have known that Puck wasn't nearly as excited about letting their friends know they were together as he was. Of course Puck hadn't been dealing with the fact that he liked guys for his whole life. It only made sense that Puck needed a few days.

"Okay," Kurt nodded with a smile before shooting Mercedes a look that told her to be quiet in the mean time.

"What were we meeting here for, anyway?" Puck asked after kissing Kurt again quickly. "You guys had a song in mind?"

"Oh, forget that," the girl said with a big smile. "I have so many genius ideas, I don't even know where to start. I'll be in the library if you need me." Then, Mercedes waved and left Kurt alone with Puck.

Turning to his boyfriend, Kurt asked, "You're serious about this? Once you tell everyone, there's no going back."

"Yeah," Puck said, the slight fear in his eyes telling Kurt that the other boy was well aware of what would happen when this plan of his went off. "But keep in mind that I might be homeless after sectionals. Any chance your Dad would let me crash? Carole used to let me stay with them when things got bad at home. And baby? Once we go public, it's gonna get really bad."

"He'll probably let you stay," Kurt nodded, hugging Puck close and wishing he could just fix everything for Puck all at once, "but you'll have to share Finn's new butch-ified room. No way my dad is letting a sex fiend like you sleep with his baby boy every night."

Puck chuckled a bit before growling in Kurt's ear, "Janitor's closet. Five minutes." And then he peeled out of there, leaving Kurt breathless and gathering his things so he could follow at a safe distance. Everything was going to be fine. Wasn't it?

_Be careful what you ask of me  
'Cause I can't say no to you._

* * *

Rachel managed to pounce on Puck in the nurse's office during his afternoon nap, saying, "Kurt and Mercedes told me all about the plan and I want you to know, I'm onboard a hundred and ten percent."

"Uh," Puck replied, blinking his eyes against the fluorescent lamps overhead as he woke up. "Yeah, great. Thanks, Rach." He closed his eyes again, wanting to escape for a few more minutes the fact that his boyfriend had turned Puck's romantic plan into a glee number. But it had to be done. The whole school had to see Puck strutting his stuff and singing his badass heart out over Kurt. Rock stars could get away with anything they wanted, and that's what this plan had to turn Puck into. Which reminded him, he had to talk to the black chick about what song she was going to pick out. It had to be perfect, not only for Puck to sing, but for Kurt as well. Not many people knew what a total badass Kurt was under the designer clothes and the perfect hair and the small stature. Puck was going to show them all how cool it was to be half-gay or full-gay or whatever fraction gay.

But only if he could pull off some sweet moves, which reminded him...

"Say," he said, blinking again and sitting up to face Rachel, "you're, like, a dancer, right? Ballet and shit?"

"Yes, Puck," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I've taken many years of dance. Ballet…and _shit_. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you could help me out with my moves. I know it's me … well, and Finn and the wheelchair kid, if we're honest … bringing the club down in that department. I can do some stuff, but when it gets to all the choreographed runnin' around and junk…?"

"I know exactly what you mean," she smiled, her teeth almost blinding Puck more than the overhead lights. "And I've been trying to get Finn to work with me on the issue all summer. If you can convince him that you both need to work with me, I'd be happy to help you, Noah."

"Thanks. We just have to figure out when. There's football and regular glee and this number for Kurt and my pool cleaning business. And I can't fail out, either. Shit," he muttered. "At least I won't have to be at home very often."

"Yeah," Rachel began, patting the back of one of his hands sympathetically, "I've been thinking about how to break up your mom and her boyfriend. No ideas so far... Can I ask what your biggest problem with him is?"

"He's a real asshole about people like me and Kurt," Puck explained. "After this whole thing, I might have to get out of there and move in with Finn. At least until Mom dumps him, which might be never."

"I have a better idea," she smiled, like she had just discovered the cure for cancer. "It will require a little lying on your part…"

"Not a problem," Puck insisted, furrowing his brow in Rachel's direction. What exactly was this crazy girl up to?

"You'll come stay with me! We can rehearse day and night for Sectionals. And, I'm sure once your mom realizes how bad this guy is for your family and misses you, she'll beg you to come home." Rachel had that crazy look in her eye, and Puck knew better than to argue with her.

"You have room at your house?"

Nodding, Rachel replied, "My dads moved my therapist out of the guest room not long after the end of last school year, since I'm doing much better emotionally now that I have glee. And Finn. As long as we tell them you're gay, I'm sure my dads will be happy to help. I didn't even meet my Grandpa Berry until I was twelve because he and my dad had a falling out. Just don't tell them you like girls, too. Or that we ever went out. They get a little overprotective."

Damn that girl could say a lot of words in one breath! "You know I'm only half-gay?"

"It's obvious to anyone who has eyes," Rachel nodded with a knowing grin. "So you'll have to do some acting and never, _ever_ look at my boobs in front of them. In fact, if you could just ignore the fact that I have boobs altogether, I would appreciate that."

Puck nodded, still sort of bushwhacked by the fuck ton of words Rachel had dumped on his head. It could work out. He could get away from Andy, make his mom realize that he wouldn't always be around, and practice with Rachel every chance he could get. It wouldn't be as awesome as living under the same roof as Kurt, but it wouldn't be as awful as staying at home, either.

"Thanks, Berry," he said, giving the girl a smile that told her he was definitely ignoring her boobs. "Just let me know when and where."

Rachel nodded with a little smile, a gesture that Puck found a lot more appealing on her than the all-out crazy she normally went with. If she wasn't Finn's girl and if he wasn't obsessed with getting Kurt Hummel to love him, Puck might have considered kissing Rachel for being so good to him. Instead, he patted her knee and lay back down, throwing one arm over his eyes to block out the light. Maybe everything would work out alright.

* * *

The next day, Mercedes managed to corner Puck in the guys' bathroom, pushing him against the wall and saying in a low voice, "I know you make my boy happy, Puck. But if you ever, _ever_, hurt him, you'll have me to deal with. Got it?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded, his mouth suddenly very dry. He was a football player for fuck's sake! He shouldn't have been intimidated by one girl! "I got it."

When Mercedes gave him a disbelieving, "Humph," Puck got a little offended. He knew he'd messed up before and he wasn't very nice when they went out, but couldn't she see how freaking much he cared about Kurt?

"I won't hurt him!" Puck insisted with an angry scowl to match the black chick's. "I'm probably going to move out of my house for him. I wouldn't upend my life like this if I wasn't serious about Kurt. Like, _deadly_ serious."

"Well, I'm just giving you one more reason to be sure about this, _Puckzilla_, before you go humiliating my best friend in public! Thinking you want him for all of two minutes before _dumping_ him like you do everyone else…"

"I _can't _dump him, Mercedes," he insisted, proud of himself for remembering her name and using it out loud. "I'm falling _in love_ with him. I only ever loved Quinn before and _she_ dumped _me_."

"So this is to get back at her? Show her you didn't really love her because you're into guys now? Hurt her feelings or some fool idea?"

"No! This is real!" Puck shouted, getting up in Mercedes' face for just a second before backing off, realizing that he couldn't hit a girl, much less Kurt's best friend.

Mercedes watched him for a long time before a freshman tried to come in the door to use the bathroom and she shoved him back out again. Then, after the silence settled for another moment, she nodded and said, "Alright, white boy. I had to make sure about you. Understand?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded, unclenching his fists and taking a deep breath. "You're just looking out for him. He's your boy. I understand. But he's _my boy_ now too."

Stepping forward, Mercedes held out her fist and gave him an amused smile until he bumped it. "Glad to know we're on the same side." And then she left Puck alone in the boys' room, bewildered and realizing that he was probably bound to Kurt for life, if that chick had anything to say about it.

Maybe he didn't need to be a sex shark. Maybe he was okay with belonging just to Kurt for as long as the other boy would have him. Not that he was gonna propose or some shit like that. The thought of a big commitment like Mercedes seemed to want out of him was scary in its own right. Fuck, he had to get everything in his head absolutely set in stone before going through with the plan, didn't he? If he came out only to dump Kurt a few weeks later, embarrassing both of them, that scary chick would probably make his life a living hell. As if he didn't have enough shit to deal with…

At least the thought of being with Kurt for a long time didn't scare him quite as much as Mercedes did.

* * *

_Song used: "Good Enough" by Evanescence (and yes, I did spell that right on the first try…)_

_Hehe, I love badass Mercedes!_


	9. The Difference

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews again! It's great to know you guys are still reading. And so many more of you every day! _

_So, I didn't have a good place to put a song for this chapter, so I decided to write a new scene, which also brought the word count more in line with the rest of the chapters. I hope you like it!_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 9 – The Difference

Puck wasn't much for school. He never had been. You had to sit still all the time and learn things that didn't matter and please the stupid clueless teachers by doing pointless assignments. There were so many better ways to spend his time. Like daydreaming about Kurt.

_This party is old and uninviting,  
Participants all in black and white  
You enter in full-blown Technicolor  
Nothing is the same after tonight._

Every class Puck had with Kurt, he would watch the other boy as stealthily as he could. He couldn't help it. Everything was just brighter when his boyfriend was around. Sometimes, Puck would get fed up with trying to pay attention and would just start sending Kurt texts to watch his face when he got them.

Usually he'd start out with something simple, like: _Looking hot today, baby. _Or: _You're so cute when you're thinking._

Then, when he got Kurt all unsuspecting, he'd text something like: _After seeing you in the locker room during gym class, I can't get the picture of your naked ass out of my brain. I need you, baby! _Or: _I'm hard for you, Kurt. I might have to get myself off in class if you insist on walking around like that. _Or: _My place. After school. I'm planning on kissing you for hours. You know I'll have you coming over and over again._

The texts made Kurt blush bright red, his cheeks and neck flushing like he'd just been fucked, not like he was just thinking about it. Mercedes noticed Kurt's reaction after that last text and hit Puck upside the head while he was eyeing Kurt out of the corner of his eye.

"What the hell?" Puck hissed back at her, turning in his seat even though Mr. York was a bitch about talking during class. In response, Mercedes gave him a disappointed look of contempt and flicked her eyes toward Kurt, who was sitting in his assigned seat two rows over. Oh hell yes! Kurt was so red he was fanning himself with a folder as he tried to read the assignment. God, he looked kissable.

Puck smiled back at Mercedes with an innocent shrug, which made her hit him again. "Cut it out, you horndog!"

"What?"

"Mr. Puckerman? Miss Jones? Do you have something to share with the rest of the class?"

Puck smiled up at the teacher and said, "No, sir. I was just trying to work when Mercedes started hitting on me!"

"Oh, hell naw!"

"Just …" Mr. York shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "keep this discussion out of my classroom. Alright?"

"Yes, Mr. York," Mercedes said as Puck nodded, hitting him again when the teacher looked away. Puck caught Kurt's amused under-his-breath chuckle and met his boyfriend's eyes for just a smoldering split-second. Smiling to himself, he knew his invitation would be accepted.

That afternoon, after glee and football practice, Puck and Kurt left school separately, but soon ended up pulling onto Puck's street at the same time. After parking his truck in the driveway, Puck met Kurt down by his SUV parked on the street. "You came."

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, looking around Puck to the small house behind him. "Is your mom home?"

"She won't be for a few hours. Wednesdays my sister has sax lessons and then they do a mother-daughter shopping hour," Puck replied, looking around before taking Kurt's hand and leading him up to and through the front door and then up the narrow stairs to his bedroom.

_If the world were to fall apart  
In a fiction-worthy wind  
I wouldn't change a thing  
Now that you're here._

Puck's boyfriend took a look around the room at the dark walls and the posters and the clothes overflowing the hamper and the full-sized bed with the headboard that knocked against wall satisfyingly when … well, maybe Kurt would experience that fact first-hand at some point. When he was ready.

_And love is a verb  
Here in my room._

Puck sat down on the bed, taking off his shoes and leaning back as he watched Kurt take a look around. He fingered Puck's small movie collection, sneered at the overflowing trash can, tried on one of Puck's baseball caps with an amused smile before sneering at that too and fixing his hair. Then, with another smile, Kurt dropped his bag and leaned back against Puck's door until it clicked shut.

_You enter and close the door behind you  
Now show me the world as seen from the stars.  
If only the lights would dim a little  
And I'm weary of eyes upon my scars._

Still wordless, Kurt took off his coat, hanging it on the back of Puck's desk chair before sitting next to him on the bed. Finally letting himself move, Puck snaked his hand around Kurt's waist and pulled him close. A warm feeling spread through Puck's chest as he leaned his forehead against Kurt's. "This is better than a janitor's closet," he chuckled.

"Indeed," Kurt agreed with a small smile, pressing forward to meet Puck's lips with his. The touch of soft skin against his made Puck shiver and grasp Kurt tighter, suddenly _needing_ more. Before long, they were rolling around on Puck's bed and kissing like their lives depended on it.

_I came here expecting next to nothing  
So thank you for being that kind of boy._

"Noah," Kurt breathed when Puck moved away from his lips, kissing down his boyfriend's neck and pulling his hips down onto Puck's. He felt like he had to be as close to Kurt as the boy would let him, holding on and trying to crawl into him. It had never been this intense with anyone else. Puck had never felt quite this way about anyone else. Not even Quinn. He had wanted Quinn this badly, he had loved her, but Puck knew she didn't feel the same way about him. Even though Puck had made the first move this time too, Kurt liked him. Kurt was falling in love with him. It made such a difference.

_That kind of boy._

* * *

Late that night, Puck was mad as hell, driving around town and decided he had to pull over and call Kurt before he drove himself into a ditch or something. "Pick up, baby," Puck whispered to the ringing phone. "Pick up."

"Noah? What's going on?" Kurt's high, sleepy voice came over the line. "It's almost one in the morning. If this is a booty call, I'm going to kill you."

"It's not," Puck sighed, lying down on the bench seat of his truck and staring up at the ceiling as he told Kurt about the night he'd just had. "The bastard is moving in. To _my house_!"

"Oh, no!" Kurt replied, appropriately concerned, which Puck appreciated. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not! He's fucking insane!"

"I just met him this afternoon," Kurt said. "He didn't seem insane."

When Puck's mom and sister got home from her saxophone lesson, he and Kurt actually had to do some homework to justify Kurt's presence in his room. Puck had thought about telling his mom right then and there that Kurt was his boyfriend, but then Andy had shown up and shooed Kurt away so they could have a 'family dinner.' Puck whispered, "After you left, the bastard told me I should find other friends. He actually said that you're 'too swishy' to be associated with and that someone should 'put you out of your misery!' I can't imagine how he'd flip if I told him how much I want to suck your cock."

"Noah," Kurt whispered, and Puck chuckled at the effect his offhand comment had on the other boy.

Then, realizing why he called in the first place, Puck spat, "D'you think I could get away with busting Andy's face? Maybe if I uglied him up a little, my Mom wouldn't want him. And then he wouldn't move in, and I could invite you over whenever I wanted to, without being afraid he'd try to kick your ass or shoot you or something."

"I don't think that's a _wise_ plan, Noah. I thought you didn't like yourself very much for beating people up."

Shit. Who had told Kurt that? The black chick? Puck bet she'd told Kurt every single detail about the three days they went out together, since she was his best friend. "Fine," he sighed. "You're right. But I don't know how much longer I can live in that house."

"We'll figure something out," Kurt insisted. "Do you want me to give you another month to think something up before letting everyone know about us?"

"No," Puck insisted, angry that Kurt had felt like he had to offer. He didn't. "You don't deserve that, Kurt! The plan goes ahead as scheduled." Puck had known from the beginning that this relationship with Kurt wasn't going to be a secret for long. But how could he tell his mom now? He would definitely have to move out, a thought he didn't like in the slightest. Though he did smile at the idea of being able to sneak into Kurt's room every night, he thought maybe Rachel's house would be the better option. Get away from home for a few weeks, let everyone know about him and Kurt, including his mom, and just let the shit hit the fan and stand back.

Realizing that he hadn't said anything for a few minutes, Puck said to his boyfriend, "Thanks for offering, though. That was cool of you."

"You're welcome," Kurt said happily, and Puck could tell that the boy was getting sleepy as Puck sat there and thought.

"Goodnight, Kurt," Puck whispered, and when here was no answer, he decided that Kurt must be sleeping on the other end. Puck probably wouldn't sleep at all, unless he could go park in his mom's driveway and sleep in his truck for a few hours. Andy had taken away _his_ _home_, and Puck's mom didn't even seem to care. Well, she might care once Puck wasn't living there anymore. She might care _a lot_.

* * *

The school week was almost over and Puck had yet to make up his mind to tell the rest of the glee club about Kurt being his boyfriend. Kurt had thought that a few days would have been two or so and that by Wednesday the whole club would be practicing together the new song that Mercedes had picked out. But Noah was dragging his heels because of the bigot moving into his house soon. And as anxious as Kurt was to end all the secret-keeping, he understood how scared Puck probably was at the prospect of having to share a house with a guy he knew hated him for no good reason.

There was only one week left before Sectionals and one of the numbers Mr. Schuester had them doing definitely wasn't up to par as far as either the vocals or the dancing went. They'd told him last year that disco was definitely dead! So why couldn't he let it go? They really needed this new song Puck and Mercedes were putting together to work out. All the students had the sheet music and were told to practice it for sectionals, just in case, but no one had told them the entire plan, as far as Kurt had heard back from Finn and Rachel.

At least things with Puck were going well, when they weren't acting like they were ignoring each other. On Thursday Puck had asked Kurt his opinion on moving in with Rachel and her dads when they met to make out in the janitor's closet. Kurt had been surprised, and then he said, "It sounds perfect, Noah. What are you waiting for?"

"I don't really want to leave Sarah alone until I have to, dance moves or no. I'm afraid that if I do leave, Andy's going to teach her to hate me."

"Baby," Kurt said, giving his boyfriend a hard look, even if it was so dark he wouldn't really see it, "I met your sister when we were doing homework together yesterday. She loves you and that little Jewish firecracker isn't going to let some interloper tell her how to feel about you. Give her some credit. She's old enough for it."

"She's nine!"

"Exactly," Kurt nodded. "Too old to let a new person tell her what she can and can't feel about her brother. Just tell Sarah where you're going and why before it happens."

Puck sighed, kissing Kurt a few times before asking, "What was it like being an only child?"

Thinking that one over for a few seconds while squeezing his boyfriend tighter, Kurt finally settled on saying, "Lonely. But at least I don't have to share a wardrobe budget with anyone."

Puck laughed and kissed Kurt's neck, which made the boy shiver and press himself closer to him, before whispering, "Someday, we're going to be big stars. I'll be a rock legend and you'll be a Broadway diva. Then we won't have anyone telling us we shouldn't be with each other. And I'll buy you whatever designer clothes you want."

"Even if they're uncomfortable and fruity?" Kurt asked in his best droll tone.

"Yeah," Puck chuckled again, the air of his laughter ghosting over Kurt's ear. "_Especially_ if they're uncomfortable and fruity. Just don't think you're dressing me in any of it. I _am_ the dude in this relationship."

"Since I have declared myself an honorary girl," Kurt replied, kissing Puck on the lips and sucking just a little to make him gasp, "I should have expected that. But don't forget for even just one second that I'm just as male as you are, baby."

"Mmm," Puck murmured, grabbing Kurt's ass and pulling him forward to grind their hard-ons together. "I have no doubts of that fact right now, Kurt. Fuck! That feels awesome!"

"It does," Kurt nodded, throwing himself into his favorite activity these days, right above secretly watching Puck in the locker room and singing in glee club. Feeling like he was ready today, Kurt said, "Noah? You can touch me if you want."

"Oh, I want to, babe," Puck growled, finding Kurt's fly and undoing it. "God, I want to!"

* * *

Despite all the shit going down at home, Puck felt happier than he had in a long time knowing that Kurt was his, completely, and knowing that he could do things to the boy that no one else ever had. He could probably get Kurt off just by looking at him right, but Puck loved being able to put his hands all over the other boy, especially his cock. It seemed like such a paradox, that someone as soft as Kurt could be hiding that steel monster of a dick in his pants, and that Puck would actually _enjoy _getting his hands on it whenever possible.

Kurt had yet to venture beyond over-the-clothes as far as Puck's cock was concerned, but after they won the big game on Friday, he did manage to talk Kurt into pulling on his nipple ring now and then while they were kissing. Fuck, it was hot! There was no way he could give this up in a week. No, he wanted to go to Sectionals pumped and ready to own that mother, not sulking because Kurt had dumped him. At this point, Andy-the-Asshole would have had to beat him to death before Puck gave up this boy that fit so well in his arms. The boy he probably loved.

So that was why, on Saturday, Puck volunteered to take his little sister Sarah out for lunch, ice cream, and skee ball. Then, he could talk to her without his mom or Andy stumbling on them, and explain why he had to move out for awhile.

They did lunch first, at Breadstix, where Puck let Sarah order something off the adult menu and they stuffed themselves sick on Calamari before Puck told Sarah what it was and got several strong punches to the arm for laughing at the face she made. That's right, his little sis was a badass, too.

Then came skee ball, where Sarah won a stuffed animal and Puck won a useless piece-of-crap key chain. Then, came ice cream. It was starting to get cold out, so they sat in Puck's truck outside the Dairy Queen and ate their ice cream. It was the perfect place to talk.

"Hey, scuzzball," Puck began the conversation, "I gotta tell you a secret."

"You bought maraj-whatsit from Mr. Ryerson," Sarah said, without skipping a beat. "And your fake ID says you're twenty four."

"Those weren't the secrets I was talking about!" he snarled, poking her in the ribs good-naturedly. "And you gotta stop going through my room, you little twerp."

"Why?" she asked. "It's not like I'd rat you out to Mom. I got your back, bro."

Sighing at Sarah's easy loyalty, Puck said, "You can't repeat this to anyone. Not even that diary that Mom and I both read."

"Hey!"

Puck smiled at the little piece of payback and then drew himself up to drop the bomb. "I have a boyfriend."

"Wait," Sarah giggled, "don't you mean you _are _someone's boyfriend?"

"No," Puck shook his head. "I mean I'm dating a boy. You met him the other day. His name is Kurt and we make out, like, all the time."

"Ew, Noah!" Sarah squealed, but her face was still happy and her eyes sparkling. "You're gay?"

"Only half!" he insisted, laughing when Sarah rolled her eyes at him. Then, he had to drop the second bomb, which would not go over as well as the first, "So I'm thinking about moving out for a little while so I can tell mom."

"You're leaving?" his sister asked, her eyes shining with sadness rather than humor. "Why?"

"Because _he _hates people like me and Kurt," Puck explained, setting down his cup of ice cream and putting his arm around Sarah's shoulders. "This way, mom has to choose between having me in the house and being okay with me having a boyfriend, and letting that bastard move in with us."

"Oh," Sarah said, thinking about it while stirring the remains of her sundae with her red plastic spoon. "And you'll come back once he's gone?"

"I promise," Puck nodded, squeezing Sarah's shoulders again. "Will you be my eyes on the inside, sis? And promise not to hate me no matter what Andy says about me?"

"Yeah," she said, rubbing her face with her sleeve to dry a few tears. "I can do that, Noah."

"Good," he nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks, scuzzball."

"Sure, cheesebrain."

* * *

On Monday, four days before Puck's big announcement was supposed to go down, Kurt met his boyfriend for their daily make out session in the second floor janitor's closet after skipping out of his last period Home Ec class on a bathroom pass. He could already Martha Stewart rings around most of the girls in the class and it was easier not to be missed if the teacher forgot about him in the hubbub at the end of the day. Plus, he thought Mrs. Harrison knew he was meeting a lover and had a soft spot for how much harder that was for Kurt to come across than your normal boy.

Puck still hadn't moved in with Rachel, but he told Kurt that he'd talked to his sister about it and about Kurt being his boyfriend. That was a good sign, anyway. If Puck was ready to tell his sister, maybe he would be ready to tell the rest of the glee club soon. Mercedes had convinced the others to start practicing Rachel's choreography for the song she'd picked out, but still hadn't told them yet what it was for. Time was running out and as much as Kurt wanted to let Puck go at his own pace with this, he found himself anxious all the time. Or, all the time he wasn't kissing Puck, in any case.

Just when they started to get to the good part, where Puck's hand found its way into Kurt's pants somehow (Kurt never seemed to notice when exactly it happened; one minute he was fully clothed and they were just kissing and the next, Puck had Kurt's dick out and halfway to happy town) the closet door rattled and then opened. Shocked into having a heart attack, Kurt froze, but Puck quickly put himself between Kurt and the intruder.

"Well, well," the unmistakable sound of Miss Sylvester's voice gave Kurt another heart attack until Puck's elbow in his ribs reminded the shorter boy to put his junk away before the harpy could get a good look at it. "Out of the closet, boys," the coach ordered, and Puck looked over his shoulder to make sure Kurt was good to go before he followed the teacher's directions. Lining them up along the lockers, Miss Sylvester paced back and forth in front of the two boys for a moment before stopping in front of Kurt. "Ladyface?"

"Yes, Miss Sylvester?" he replied, flashing back to all those tortuous Cheerios practices last year, his hands going cold and his face growing hotter than he'd ever felt it.

"I've made up my mind about you." She bent down a few inches to get right in his face before saying, "You're gayer than a Maypole dance, aren't ya?"

"Yes, Miss Sylvester," he nodded, sparing a quick glance at Puck, who seemed to be giving him a sleepy look that told him not to worry about it. But then the teacher turned on Puck.

"You!" she cried, and Kurt saw a little piece of spittle fly from the coach's mouth and hit Puck's chin. Ew, ew, ew! Kurt was going to have to personally decontaminate his boyfriend's chin before kissing it again. "You confuse me, Puckerman."

"Is that right, ma'am?" Puck replied, bravely not wiping his face. Kurt was going to have to take a bleach wipe to that patch of skin, wasn't he?

"Aren't you the same Mr. Puckerman who has had sexual congress with a third of my Cheerios squad? And if rumors are accurate, a good portion of the PTA?"

"More or less," Puck shrugged. Kurt admired the way he could stand up to teachers like that. Hell yeah! His boyfriend was a badass! Who had (ew!) slept with a lot of girls…

"So, let me get this straight," Sylvester said, taking a moment to smirk at her own pun. "You're simultaneously on the football team and in the glee club. You date attractive cheerleaders, middle-aged women, and this thing," Kurt sniffed at the insult, gathering himself up in an imitation of how Puck withstood this horrible woman. "And you still hold more political clout than the members of our school's fine hockey team?"

"Yes, ma'am," Puck smiled slightly, meeting Miss Sylvester's gaze right on.

"Damn sneaky gays," she shook her head back and forth slowly, as if trying to terrorize Puck with disappointment. When it didn't seem to work, the teacher stopped and said, "I'm thinking that your fortunes might take a turn for the worse if news of your dalliance with Liberace here became public. Bring you down a peg or two. So here's what's going to happen…"

"Are you seriously trying to blackmail me, Miss Sylvester?" Puck interrupted the teacher with a scoff and a roll of his eyes. "Go ahead and try." Oh, shit, Kurt was so turned on by him right now!

"Hmm," the coach nodded, shrugging her bottom lip and nodding her head. "I like that attitude, Mr. Puckerman. But here's the deal. I need a few more male cheerleaders for this Friday's competition. Two of my regulars came down with the mononucleosis. The kissing disease, my ass! Should be called the lazy pansies with damn glass spleens disease! Now, you'll have to miss football and your precious _glee club_ if you're going to be ready in time, but if you boys help me out, you won't be spending the next six weeks…in detention…for _fornicating in the janitor's closet_! Do I make myself clear?"

Kurt sent Puck a look that he hoped asked, "What about Glee? We need that time to practice for Sectionals!"

Puck's returning look said, "It's cool, babe. I got this."

"We'll do it," Puck said, much to Kurt's dismay. "But this is a one-time offer. If you so much as try to renege on this deal, I'll go to Figgins claiming you molested me." Puck's face suddenly morphed into a tearful frightened one as he blubbered, "It was just so horrible, Figgy! Miss Sylvester touched me in very wrong places. I think I might be scarred for life! I might have to give up on women all together!" Then, Puck's face morphed back into one of cool disinterest, and even Kurt got chills at his acting prowess.

Miss Sylvester broke out into a huge grin and she clapped Puck on the shoulder, "If you can cheer as well as you can con, Mr. Puckerman, I think you'll be my new favorite person!" Then she turned to Kurt and said, "Count yourself lucky, Ladyface. You've found yourself a good one. Just don't let me catch you two engaging in any more hanky panky on school grounds. Practice starts at four o' clock sharp this afternoon and then three o'clock for the rest of the week to get you up to speed. Alrighty, boys?"

"Yes, Miss Sylvester," Kurt nodded, sneaking a smile over at Puck, who was just nodding.

"Okay, now get back to class before I change my mind!"

Kurt booked it out of there, grabbing Puck's hand and pulling him along. Once they were around the corner, he said, "We were supposed to do your number in the lunch room on Friday, but if we're Cheerios, we won't even be here…"

"Don't sweat it, babe," Puck shrugged, stopping when they got to his history class. "We're telling the Glee club this afternoon and that announcement number will just have to be on Thursday instead of Friday."

"Are you serious?" Kurt asked, his jaw dropping. "There's no way we can be ready in time if we both have to go to Cheerios practice instead of glee rehearsal! And Sectionals is the next day!"

"I'm moving in with Rachel tonight," Puck insisted. "And we'll work nonstop from now until then. Whoever from glee feels comfortable joining us, will join us. Whoever doesn't, wont. It's simple, babe. Even if we have to do that stupid disco number, we'll totally pown Sectionals. We've all been practicing really hard this year. It'll work out. And this way, we don't get six weeks of detention with that creepy math teacher. Believe me, _anything's_ better than that."

Kurt chuckled softly at Puck's exaggerated eye roll before a frown took over again as he asked, "And you'll be ready to come out on Thursday?"

Puck smiled at him, a smile that Kurt loved more than anything else on the planet in that moment. "I'm ready now, Kurt. I just want to do this right."

Kurt started to move in for another kiss, happy beyond belief at this development, but Puck stopped him, eyes flicking to where Coach Sylvester was standing at the end of the hall. Damn it. Kurt nodded and walked away, back toward Home Ec, trembling with the feeling that his life was going to change for the better very, very soon.

* * *

_Song used: "Here in My Room" by Incubus_

_So, how did you like my take on Sue Sylvester? It's really fun writing her, so I hope I did a good job! Please review!  
_


	10. All I Wanted

_A/N: Yes, I am posting later in the day than usual. I had a little more work to do on this chapter, besides finally reviving my Buffy series. I hope you like it!_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 10 – All I Wanted

Puck knew that things were going to get really tough from then until Saturday, but making things right with Kurt was worth it. They had one last after-school practice with the glee club before Miss Sylvester had them by the balls, and Puck was going to make it count. First, he found Finn and said, "I can't make it to football practice tonight or for the rest of the week. Cover for me with Tanaka?"

"Sure, dude," Finn nodded, with a bewildered look in his eye.

Then, Puck turned to Rachel as she approached them and asked, "Your offer still stand, Berry?"

"Yep," she nodded happily, slipping her hand into Finn's. "My dads are more than happy to help you out, Noah."

"Awesome," he nodded. "I'll be over tonight after I pack a bag."

All three of them walked to glee practice together, and Puck grabbed Kurt by the arm when he saw the boy, dragging him into Mr. Schue's office to make the announcement, "Miss Sylvester's forcing us to be Cheerios this week, for Friday's competition. We won't be in glee after school."

"Yeah," Kurt added, with a nod, "and she's not letting us go to football practice either. They're totally going to lose the game on Friday without us."

Furrowing up his brow in pained disbelief, Mr. Schuester asked, "How? How is she forcing you to do this?"

Kurt looked over at Puck, letting him explain, "She caught us breaking the rules. It was either this or six weeks of detention."

"With Mr. Gilroy," Kurt added helpfully, making the Spanish teacher shudder at the thought.

"Sectionals is on _Saturday_, guys," he pointed out.

"We know," Kurt said, smiling at Puck and making him feel completely loved, even if Mr. Schue _could _see that smile. "We'll be ready."

"And," Puck joined in, almost laughing at Schue's confused expression, "we've got another announcement to make to the rest of the club."

"Okay," Mr. Schue nodded, looking past them to the choir room. "It looks like everyone's here. Why don't you go ahead?"

Sharing one last smile with his boyfriend, Puck let Kurt lead the way out onto the floor. "Attention, everyone!" Kurt called out. "Attention! Puck and I have something to say." Kurt turned his eyes to Puck, giving him this one last moment in control of what happened. This one last moment to decide whether or not to go through with it. Puck decided, in that moment, he was hopelessly in love with Kurt and that made the rest of it easy.

So, in lieu of any words, Puck grabbed Kurt and dipped him back, sealing their lips together and knowing it was right. He heard the collective gasp of most of the club, including Schuester, and one very loud whistle from Mercedes. Breaking the kiss and setting Kurt back on his wobbly, blushing feet, Puck faced the room and asked, "Any questions?" He slipped his arm around Kurt's shoulders to hold him close as the questions rained down on them.

"How long?" Artie asked.

"Is this a joke?" Santana blurted out.

Mr. Schue asked, "Is this how you got in trouble with Coach Sylvester?"

"Puck," Brit asked, "does this mean you're capital g or little g gay?"

"Are you really this desperate, Kurt?" Tina blurted out.

"How come Finn and Rachel seem to know already?" Quinn asked. "And Mercedes?"

"Uh, okay," Puck said, giving Kurt a nervous laugh, asking for some help. He knew it wasn't going to be a cakewalk, but there were just too many questions for him to deal with. Then Kurt, bless his perfect ass, stepped up for him.

"Eight days, officially," Kurt began. "Dead serious. Yes, Mr. Schue. Little g, I guess?" Kurt shrugged, looking over at Puck for a nod. "Completely desperate," he continued with a chuckle, the cute sound of which made Puck squeeze his boyfriend even tighter. "And yes, Rachel, Finn, and Mercedes all knew."

"And kept it a secret?" Quinn nodded, sounding impressed. Smiling, she patted Mercedes' hand lovingly.

Realizing that a few people had yet to speak up, Puck made eye contact with Matt and Mike, the new guy (what's his name), and the two new girls. "Anyone else have something to say?"

Mike shared a look with Matt before shrugging and saying, "Congratulations?"

"Thank you, Mike," Kurt said graciously, grabbing Puck's hand on his shoulder and lacing it in his. "We're planning on telling the rest of the school on Thursday, with the new song Mercedes passed out last week."

"New song?" Mr. Schue asked, obviously out of the loop.

"Yes," Kurt said sharply, cutely upset at having been interrupted. "We have until then to finish the choreography."

"And what sucks," Puck added, "is that Kurt and I have to fill in as freaking Cheerios this week, so we can only practice all together for this _and_ Sectionals during third period."

"And at my house," Rachel spoke up. "My dads built me a full dance studio in the basement, so we can use that space mornings and evenings."

"Your help would mean a lot to us," Kurt added, using his best sympathetic tone, Puck noticed. "But feel free to decline if you're not up for the extra work. Just please, if you have one theatrical bone in your body, don't ruin the surprise?"

A loud silence filled the room, full of confused looks, some whispering, and a few proud smiles. Eventually, when Mr. Schue picked his jaw up off the floor, he said, "Alright everyone. Let's hear this new song."

Right away, Artie pulled out his electric guitar and started playing, letting Finn come in on the drums after a few bars, and Puck realized that the wheelchair kid must have been working on the smoking guitar riff all week. The rest of the choir came in a few at a time with the background vocals, slowly gaining volume.

_Whoah-oh-a-ohh-oh-a-oh-ohhh_

After a few repetitions, when Mercedes cued, Finn hit the bass drum and everyone came in with a half-sung, half-shouted:

_Thunder!  
Whoah-oh-a-ohh-oh-a-oh-ohhh  
Thunder!_

Puck let the rhythm build up and up, getting into the beat and pulling Kurt onto the dance floor. He wasn't the best dancer in the group, but he knew how to rock out like a badass, so that's what he did, making sure he was facing Kurt when he came in with the lead vocals.

_I was caught  
In the middle of a lightning attack._

_Thunder!_

_I looked 'round  
And I knew there was no turning back._

Puck pulled Kurt against him with a smile and followed Kurt's lead when he fit their legs together and started dancing suggestively, grinding against him to the beat of the music. Yeah. This was definitely going to work…

* * *

Cheerios practice was twice as bad as Kurt remembered, even if Coach Sylvester did want him to revamp his singing solo for the competition. And if this was twice as bad as he remembered, it was ten times as bad as football practice, especially for Puck. Kurt felt bad for his boyfriend, and a little insecure with him hoisting pretty cheerleaders into the air all afternoon, but there was nothing to be done. It was either this, or get stuck in detention and not even have the six weeks they needed to practice for glee club Regionals (knock on wood).

Kurt went along with Puck that night when he went to go get his stuff, helping Noah pack a few duffel bags with clothes and things while little Sarah stalled Puck's mom and her boyfriend out at a restaurant for dinner. Then, they threw the bags into the back of Puck's pickup and drove over to Rachel's house. On the drive over, Puck looked so sad that Kurt whispered, "Are you okay? You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Fuck that," Puck sniffed, shifting gears as they came to a stoplight. "It was about time I got outta there. If I have to hear one more rant, I'd probably stab that bastard with a butter knife. So yeah, I have to do this."

Sort of hating how Puck got when he swore, but getting turned on by it at the same time, the only thing Kurt could think to do was wrap his hand around Puck's on the shifter in comfort. Kurt let Puck take the lead during the whole process, carrying the bags Puck handed him, staying a step behind Puck when he rang the doorbell, and standing back while Rachel pulled them into the house.

It was a nice house, and Kurt remembered the pleasant smell of fabric softener and vanilla air freshener from when he'd been there before. Though, he'd never met Rachel's dads before. As they all stood in the front hallway, beneath the stairs that led up to the bedrooms, Rachel made the introductions. "Noah Puckerman, Kurt Hummel, these are my dads!" She pointed first to a taller African-American man with close-cropped hair and an indulgent smile, "Sean Berry," and then she pointed to a shorter white guy, who was balding and wore wire rim glasses, "and Aaron Berry." Both appeared to be in their late forties, and well dressed, which made Kurt wonder how the fashion disaster known as Rachel Berry came to be.

"It's nice to meet you boys," Aaron said, taking control of the conversation as he wrapped one arm around Rachel's shoulders. "I'm sorry you're having a difficult time at home, Noah."

"Yeah," Puck stammered, looking back and meeting Kurt's eyes for a supportive nod. "Thanks for letting me crash here, Mr. Berry. I don't know how long it's going to be."

"Well, both Sean and I have been where you are and we're happy to help. Stay as long as you need to."

"Of course," Sean spoke up, his voice deeper but more playful, "we'd appreciate it if you'd decide to go to college or move out on your own by the time you're what…" he shared a glance with his husband, "…thirty?"

Puck laughed and said, "I really doubt I'll be in your hair that long, uh, other Mr. Berry."

"Oh just go ahead and call him Sean," Aaron replied, before his tone turned dead-serious, "but you should still call me _Mr. Berry_."

"Daddy!" Rachel laughed, rolling her eyes. "Be nice!" Then she took the first step up the stairs and said, "Come on, I'll show you where you're staying."

Kurt went to follow, but Aaron stopped him and asked, "And everything's okay with you at home, Kurt?"

"Yeah," he nodded with an amused smile. "Yeah, Mr. Berry. My dad says he's known I was gay since I was three. He's pretty good with it."

"Well," the man nodded, "let me know if you ever need to talk."

"Thanks. I will," Kurt replied before following Rachel and Puck upstairs. He thought that was very kind of the man and definitely saw where Rachel got some of her better, more occasionally compassionate, qualities.

The guest room Puck would be staying in was tastefully decorated in muted green, blue, and gray. "I love it," Kurt said. "I think you'll be much happier here, Noah."

Puck scoffed as he threw his bags onto the bed, saying, "Sure. Whatever."

Kurt and Rachel shared a look of concern over Puck's sudden mood shift. Kurt tilted his head toward the door and Rachel got the hint, saying, "I'll go help my dads with dinner. Come down whenever you're ready," before she left and closed the door.

Kurt approached his boyfriend and whispered, "Tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours, Noah."

"This sucks," he replied, falling back onto the bed with a pained expression on his face, such a big contrast from the smile he'd sported during glee practice. Kurt would give anything to make him smile again.

Kurt sighed and dropped the bag he was carrying, approaching the bed and carefully crawling onto it to lie next to Puck, looking down at him with one arm planted next to Puck's head to keep his shoulders up. "I know."

"I mean, Rachel's dads are cool and everything but this isn't my house," Puck said, letting his head fall against Kurt's arm and meeting his eyes. Kurt couldn't help but notice how pretty the patterns in Puck's brown-hazel eyes were, mesmerizing almost. But filled with pain.

"Are you sure your mom and her boyfriend would freak out about us? It's not too late to take everything and get you back home."

"I'm certain Andy would freak out, and drag my mom into it," Puck sighed. "Fuck. What kind of badass am I, running away from my own house?"

"The kind that knows," Kurt kissed Puck's full lips gently, wondering if the crushing sensation in his chest was love or just infatuation, "how to listen to his boyfriend about these things. This is better than a prison cell, isn't it?"

Puck growled and turned away, insulted, "There's nothing _saying_ I would actually hurt anyone if I stayed and got into that fight. I mean, I _try_ to be a good guy."

"I know you do," Kurt said, trying to turn Puck's face back toward him only to have Puck stand up away from him.

"This is your fault, you know," he said softly, eyes blazing as he met Kurt's. "If you weren't around…I'd still be dating girls. I'd be _normal_."

_Is love so fragile  
And the heart so hollow?  
Shatter with words  
Impossible to follow._

Pain ripping at his chest, Kurt felt his eyes tearing up as he sat up on the bed to face his boyfriend. "Please don't say that," Kurt said, managing to keep his voice steady despite the trembling that started at his stomach and worked itself all the way to the tips of his fingers.

"Why not?" Puck growled. "It's true. You're the only dude I've ever been into. How do we know this whole situation isn't your fault?"

_Saying I'm fragile  
I try not to be.  
I search only  
For something I can't see._

This was totally unfair and Kurt was pretty sure his boyfriend knew it. Puck was lashing out at Kurt and damn it, he didn't have to take this crap. "I'm not the one who made your mom's boyfriend an asshole," Kurt insisted, standing up and pushing Puck's shoulder in anger. "I'm not the one who started this whole thing! I was _perfectly fine _being the lonely gay kid all throughout high school. If you weren't around, I'd still have that!"

"But now?" Puck asked him like it was a dare, looking like he wanted to push Kurt in retaliation, but wouldn't. Well, good for him reigning in his violent impulses and being a complete bastard to Kurt instead.

"But now, you're blaming me for things that aren't my fault!" Kurt fumed, trying to make Puck see how idiotic he was being. "I've had to live around people like Andy every day of my life, Noah! I thought maybe you were enough of a badass to shake all that off and do what you want without caring what other people think about you. I guess I was wrong."

_I have my own life  
And I am stronger  
Than you know._

Kurt moved to get around Puck, but the other boy grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him, saying, "I don't care what the fuck Andy thinks about me."

"That's not what it looks like to me," Kurt shot back, twisting away from Puck and heading for the door. "It looks to me like you care so much what he thinks about you, what everyone thinks about you, that you can't stand living your mom's house once she's going to find out the truth about you. It looks to me like it's _your_ anger and _your_ damn homophobia that's put you here! _Not me_, Puck."

_All I wanted was you._

"My…?" Puck shook his head in confusion before scowling again and grabbing Kurt into a harsh kiss. "I fucking love you, Kurt!"

_I need you to love me  
I need you today.  
Give to me your leather  
Take from me my lace._

Kurt's head spun as he pushed his way out of Puck's arms again, his fingers rising to touch his lips as he tried to grasp what Puck had said. It was all way too much. They'd just been fighting, hadn't they? There was no way Puck _loved_ him!

_You in the moonlight  
With your sleepy eyes,  
Could you ever love  
A boy like me?_

"Don't," he managed to say once the tingling in his lips faded.

_All I wanted was you_

"Don't say that because you think it will get you out of this fight. Don't say it unless you mean it!" And then, scared of how Puck might pile more abuse on Kurt because he was having a shitty day, Kurt left, glad that his house wasn't that far from Rachel's. He could walk home.

It bothered Kurt that Puck didn't follow him. He didn't even _try_ to stop Kurt.

_I could follow you to the beginning,  
Just to relive the start.  
And maybe then we'll remember to slow down  
At all our favorite parts._

_All I wanted was you._

* * *

"Shit!" Puck growled, slamming the door of his new room shut after Kurt escaped it. How had everything gone so wrong so fast? In one moment, Kurt was being nice to him and letting Puck unload and then Puck had to go and mess it up by saying the exact wrong thing. Why did he have to be such an asshole, blaming Kurt for his problems? Puck _knew_ that his attraction to guys wasn't Kurt's fault. But maybe he wished it was. Maybe he wished he _wasn't_ in love with the boy. It would be so much easier.

But how could he ever have been so cruel to say those things out loud? Was this just what Puck always did? Fall back on being a bastard when people got too close? That's what he did to Quinn, chasing other tail when he was supposed to be there for her and the kid. He was a Lima Loser, through and through, wasn't he? Hurt other people so they won't hurt him. Leave people before he could leave them. Make them leave before they decided to leave on their own. Fuck it up before it ever got any good.

And when Puck said he loved him, Kurt didn't believe it. Kurt didn't trust him like he said he did. Kurt didn't love him back. And why should he, when Puck was such an asshole to begin with?

But Puck couldn't go back. He couldn't give up on this because it was harder than any of the other relationships he'd been. It was a hundred times better, too. Puck had to fix this, he had to put it right.

Pulling out his phone, Puck quickly texted Kurt: _I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I do love you._

There was no response by the time Rachel came to get him for dinner, asking, "Where did Kurt go?"

"We had a fight," Puck mumbled sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, hoping Rachel wouldn't hear him. But she did, somehow.

"About what?" she asked quietly, pushing his duffel away so she could sit next to him.

"I fucked it up," Puck sighed. "Like always. Told him I loved him and he didn't believe me."

"Do you?" Rachel asked, pulling Puck's hands away from his face. "Do you love him?"

"Yes!" Puck cried indignantly. "I love him!" Rachel jumped at the growl and sudden volume in Puck's voice, sitting silently beside him. Great. Now Puck was scaring everyone away. Taking one deep, calming breath, Puck asked, "Help me?"

"This calls for a big apology?"

"Uh-huh," Puck agreed, hanging his head again. "A text message didn't work."

"Well of _course_ it didn't work," Rachel cried, her familiar know-it-all voice coming back with a vengeance. "You're such a _boy_, Noah!"

"So," Puck said, looking up at her and seeing that show-biz glint in Rachel's eye, "a song?"

"A song," Rachel agreed with a sharp nod. "Come eat dinner and we'll brainstorm ideas."

"Alright," Puck agreed, knowing he had nothing left to lose. He'd practically been driven out of his house, his boyfriend was upset with him, and he had way too many things to get done in the next few days. If only Rachel could help get him Kurt back, everything else would be fine. Wouldn't it?

* * *

Later that night, Puck texted Finn, saying: _You still awake, bro? Give me a call._ After just a few minutes, Puck's phone rang and he answered it, "Hey, dude."

"What's up?" Finn asked, and Puck liked the fact that they were almost back to using as few words as possible. Puck always had to use more words than he liked when talking to people who weren't Finn. It got annoying.

"Need a favor."

"Yeah?"

"Make Kurt come over?" Puck asked, knowing that if anyone could make Kurt do something he didn't want to, it was Finn. "For practice in the morning?"

"Why would he skip?"

"I pissed him off," Puck replied, wondering how much Finn could really handle hearing.

"What'd you do?"

Puck sighed, but figured that Finn was his best friend. He might as well tell the truth. "I dumped all this feelings shit on him and he got mad, so I said I loved him."

"Oh," Finn replied, silent for a few moments. "…Do you?"

"Why does everyone have to ask?" Puck growled, almost hanging up the phone, but then thinking better of it when he heard Finn's soft, "Sorry."

"Yeah, thanks," Puck muttered, letting the silence stretch out between them. Eventually he said, "So I planned up an apology with Rachel. But it's gotta be in person, so you have to get Kurt over here, Hudson."

"Do me a favor, too?" Finn asked.

"What?"

Finn's voice stopped and started a few times, like he was trying to figure out how to word it before he said, "Don't have sex with Rachel."

"What?" Puck cried, laughing at how surprising the request was.

"You're, like, living in her house now and stuff," Finn explained. "And she still kind of likes you, even though she wouldn't admit it in a million, billion years."

"She does?" Puck asked, sticking his head out his door to make sure no one was out there before closing it. "No, you're shittin' me, Hudson."

"Whatever, dude," Finn sighed. "Just promise."

"Fine, fine," Puck laughed. "I promise I won't have sex with Rachel."

"Not ever."

"What if you're all dead and her and me are the last two people alive? Can I bone her for the sake of the human race? I mean, I'm a proven baby-daddy."

Finn laughed and said, "Only if I'm really, really dead and there's no one else who could do it."

"I promise," Puck said, and he felt something like their old friendship sliding back into place. "Besides, I'm gettin' it regular from your brother, dude. Or, I will be if we can get him to forgive me for being a stupid asshole."

"Then I'm definitely helping you and Kurt get back together," Finn chuckled, "to keep my girlfriend safe from you."

"Like I can't keep it in my pants without – … Yeah, okay," Puck grinned, "I see your point."

Finn laughed, "Alright. Later, dude."

"Later," Puck replied, hanging up his phone and wondering if it was alright to pray to God to get his gay boyfriend back. It couldn't hurt, right?

* * *

_Songs used: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, and a mash-up of "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and "All I Wanted" by Paramore_

_I hoped you liked this chapter. I had a difficult time coming up with another song besides those few lines of Thunderstruck (we might be seeing the rest later). What did you think of my mash-up? What do you think will happen next? How did I do with Rachel's dads so far? Thanks for reading and taking the time to review!  
_


	11. Groveling

_A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! It earns the M rating, just so you're aware…_

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 11 - Groveling

"Why the hell did you drag me out of the house so early, Finn?" Kurt grumbled, wishing he was taller so that the boy wouldn't have been able to keep his car keys away from him like that. "This isn't funny. I have to put on my face."

"Your face looks fine," Finn replied, "and you're dressed, right?"

"If you could call it that," Kurt sneered down at the clothes he'd been able to put together in the two minutes Finn gave him to get dressed. There were no accessories, nothing fancy, just jeans, cute loafers, and a button down shirt under his weather-appropriate trench coat. "My Cheerios uniform would be better than this."

"That's why we're out of the house so early," Finn yawned, and Kurt feared for the safety of his car with Rip van Winkle at the wheel. "So we can get you up to speed on the glee number for Thursday, since you have to be at cheerleading practice all afternoon."

"Finn!" Kurt cried. "We might not even be doing the song. Puck doesn't want to be with me. He just wants to crawl back inside his _normal little_ life and date _normal little_ girls and have nothing to do with me. What's the point?"

"Have you talked to him since last night?" Finn asked, trying to put a hard stare on Kurt and drive at the same time. Oh, his poor baby! Finn was going to wreck her, wasn't he? Kurt had gotten a lame-ass text, but he hadn't _talked_ to Noah, so he shook his head. "Well, I have," Finn said, insisting, "and he wants to do the song more than ever. In front of the whole school. On _Thursday_. You can decide later that you don't want to be there, but please learn the dance? In case you do?"

Finn wouldn't lie to him about this, would he? Probably not. But maybe Puck had been lying to Finn. His (former?) boyfriend just wanted to humiliate him in front of the rest of the school and go back to his womanizing ways. That was all it was, right? But what if it wasn't? What if Puck _did _love him? It seemed impossible since their relationship had only started about three weeks ago. Was it impossible? If everything Puck said was true, Kurt _couldn't _miss out on that.

With a sigh of resignation, Kurt asked, "So where are we going to rehearse? School?"

"Rachel's house," Finn replied, his jaw dropping in surprise when Kurt hit him on the arm. "What was that for?"

"Puck is there!" Kurt snarled, hitting Finn again, "And because of _you_ he's going to see me like _this_!"

"And…" Finn screwed up his brows in confusion as he turned onto Rachel's street, "…that's bad?"

Kurt scoffed at Finn's masculine ignorance and popped open the glove box, rooting around until he found a spare compact, patting the powdery make up onto his face to even out his skin tone and then digging out a brush to try to get his hair to behave without any of the products he was used to using. There, that was better. Then, Kurt rummaged around in the console beneath the stereo, finding a tube of Root Beer flavored lip gloss he'd stashed in there last week, applying it carefully as Finn parked on the street in front of Rachel's house, right behind Puck's pickup. If he was going to be forced into seeing Puck, Kurt figured he'd twist the knife a little by looking as good as possible, given the circumstances.

Nodding at his appearance in the visor mirror, Kurt got out of the car, letting Finn follow him to the front door until the other boy pulled on his arm, "No, wait. We're supposed to go to the back door."

Shrugging, Kurt followed Finn around the back of the house, hoping his loafers wouldn't slip on the dewy grass as they went down the hill beside the house. They approached a sliding glass basement door below the deck that led down from the first floor to the concrete patio next to that monstrosity of an above-ground pool. Finn knocked on the glass quietly, probably so they wouldn't wake up Rachel's dads, since it was half past the ass-crack of dawn and no one sane would be out of the house, much less _awake _at this hour.

Rachel waved at them from inside, insanely chipper and as she opened the door, Kurt wondered if the world's energy crisis could be solved by harvesting that girl's enthusiasm in fuel form. Rolling his eyes and really hoping Puck was worse off than him, Kurt let Rachel lead him into a large, finished dance studio that looked like it took up two thirds of the basement. And, as Kurt had been half-expecting in excitement and terror, Puck was there, sitting on a stool with his guitar in hand. As their eyes met, Kurt's heart broke at the pain in Puck's expression, his eyes all shimmery and his brow scrunched up.

He never wanted to hurt Puck by leaving the night before and by ignoring him, but Kurt had to protect himself as best he could. Didn't he? That's what his dad had always taught him – if it looks like someone's fixing to hurt you, you get outta there. Kurt wondered why his dad never told him to fight back, but maybe his stature made it painfully obvious that unless he was fighting a twelve-year-old, he would lose. Badly.

This time Kurt held his head high, refusing to give an inch and knowing that every second he didn't speak to Puck made the other boy hurt like he had been hurt. Well, good. That was how Kurt always fought back when he was cornered, with his dignity intact and his head held high. Good that Noah should figure that out now before he tried to break Kurt's heart even further with whatever joke he and Rachel had cooked up.

But then Puck looked down, licking his lips and swallowing nervously as he started strumming his guitar. Oh, god! This was an apology, wasn't it? It was a fucking apology and Kurt didn't want to hear it, but with Rachel and Finn both blocking the only door, he was trapped here. Puck was forcing this apology on him and Kurt felt his cheeks flush hotly in anger. How dare he?

But then Puck started singing and all thoughts of escaping and ignoring the boy forever were chased away by Puck's strong, clear voice.

_We all have a weakness.  
Some of ours are easy to identify  
Look me in the eye_

Kurt found himself following the command almost like he couldn't help it, catching those hazel eyes he'd been fawning over just seconds before having his heart and pride stomped on. Shit. This was working on him, wasn't it?

_I'll ask for forgiveness  
We'll make a pact to never speak  
Of it again. Yes, you are my friend._

_We all have something that digs at us.  
At least we dig each other._

Damn it. This_ was_ a pretty good apology. Puck's eyes dropped away from Kurt's and back onto his guitar, like he thought it was hopeless, but he might as well finish the song anyway.

_So when weakness turns my ego up  
I know you'll count on the me from yesterday!_

_If I turn into another,  
Dig me up from what is covering  
The better part of me._

There was something different. Puck admitting that his attitude got in the way and that there was a better person underneath. Was that the person that said he loved Kurt, or was it the other, the egotistical one?

_Sing this song,  
Remind me that we'll always have each other  
When everything else is gone._

Always? As in, forever? Kurt caught Puck's eyes again, and there must have been a question in his expression, because Puck nodded sadly as he continued to sing.

_We all have a sickness  
That cleverly attaches and multiplies  
No matter how we try._

_We all have someone _(Puck nodded at him again with a little smile)_ that digs at us.  
At least we dig each other._

_So when my sickness turns my ego up  
I know you'll act as a clever medicine_

_If I turn into another  
Dig me up from under what is covering  
The better part of me._

_Sing this song._

Puck set down his guitar, but kept singing, stepping closer and closer to Kurt.

_Remind me that we'll always have each other  
When everything else is gone.  
Oh, each other when everything else is gone._

Kurt let him approach, Puck wrapping his arms around the smaller boy while Kurt wondered if that was what had been bugging his boyfriend the night before. Everything in his life was gone or would soon be gone – his home, his sister, his reputation. All that was left was them. Well, and football, glee, and a short stint on the Cheerios, but Kurt didn't think things like that really mattered to Puck. Especially when he kept singing softly into Kurt's ear.

_If I turn into another  
Dig me up from under what is covering  
The better part of me._

_Sing this song.  
Remind me that we'll always have each other  
When everything else is gone._

_Oh, each other, sing this song  
When everything else is gone.  
Oh, each other when everything else is gone._

Kurt looked up to see that Puck – the indomitable, fucking badass Puck – had a few tears on his face and more left in his eyes. The taller boy's arms were wrapped around Kurt's shoulders and Kurt had yet to reciprocate. But Puck was here, asking for forgiveness so sincerely, his voice reaching right down Kurt's throat and squeezing at the center of his gut, that Kurt couldn't help but let his arms hug Puck back.

Sniffing, Puck hugged Kurt tighter and whispered in his ear, "I'm a fucking asshole, and I know that. I didn't mean what I said. Please? Forgive me?"

"Well," Kurt sighed, "I don't know…" When Puck jerked back to scowl at Kurt, the shorter boy smiled to tell his boyfriend he was only kidding. "You might have to grovel for a long time."

Puck laughed, hugging him again, and Kurt loved how he had to tip his head up just a little to fit his chin on Puck's shoulder. They stood together for a few moments and Kurt breathed Puck in, finding his smell a little different after having spent the night in Rachel's house. But it was still Noah underneath, and that was the important part. Needing to know before he could let go, Kurt whispered, "Say it again. I promise I won't freak out this time."

It took Puck a few seconds to catch on, but then he kissed Kurt's neck and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Noah," Kurt murmured, and he didn't even have enough time to draw one breath before Puck's lips attacked his, pulling and sucking desperately, like Puck wanted to make sure he got his fill before Kurt ran off again. He found he didn't mind Puck's eagerness at all. In fact, it was really, _really_ good, until two jerks at the door started making puking noises.

"Alright, alright!" Kurt chuckled, pushing Noah away as best he could, which really just meant turning around in Puck's arms so the boy had to kiss his neck instead of his lips.

"Guys!" Rachel cried, stalking up to them and bopping Puck on the top of his head with an open hand. "Everyone else is going to be here in about two minutes. Unless you want to put on a different sort of show…"

"Yeah, let's not," Kurt insisted with a laugh, pulling away from Noah and shrieking when the boy growled and chased after him. Kurt tried hiding behind Rachel, but she wasn't big enough, so he ran behind Finn, crying, "Traitor!" when Finn stepped out of the way, allowing Noah to tackle him into the other room, where several members of the glee club were just letting themselves in the back door.

Mercedes and Tina cried, "Aww!"; Quinn looked sad again; Matt and Mike rolled their eyes at each other; the new guy shifted uncomfortably on his feet; Santana cackled before hiding her laugh behind one hand; and Brittany said, "If I knew we were wrestling, I would have brought my _lucha libre _mask."

Kurt was so surprised by their appearance that he lost his footing and fell, taking Noah with him onto the hard concrete floor. "Ow!"

"Hummel," Puck groaned as their laughing teammates filed past them into Rachel's dance studio, "if this didn't hurt so much, I'd say you were eager to get me horizontal."

"In your dreams, Puckerman," Kurt replied, rubbing his bruised elbow.

Noah chuckled in his ear and murmured, "Every night, baby," before grinding his hips against Kurt's ass.

"No time," Kurt groaned, breathless. "But after Cheerios practice, Noah? My car?"

"It's a date," Puck growled, nipping at Kurt's neck once more before rolling off him and sitting up, returning Kurt's smile when he beamed at Puck.

"And remember," Kurt said as they helped each other up, "your period of _groveling_ is over when I say it is, sweetie."

As Noah laughed and led him into the dance studio, Kurt felt like he shouldn't be this happy. He felt like he should be telling himself that Puck was just going to disappoint him again and again, but he couldn't. He couldn't help but put more than a healthy share of faith in the boy that had stolen his heart. Puck had left his home for Kurt. He'd proved over and over again that he was serious about being with him.

Kurt crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.

* * *

As he danced with Kurt over and over again, following Rachel's grating, bellowed instructions and Mike's more subtle suggestions, Puck felt like he could do no wrong. Kurt had forgiven him. Puck had redeemed himself (mostly) and had gotten Kurt to say he loved him. He did wonder, in a deep part of his gut, how often he would fuck up and how often he would have to chase Kurt down, but decided that every chase was worth the effort. Especially when the reward was the guy in his arms, dancing with him not how a girl would dance, but still crazy-suggestively. The idea of dancing this way was to get the point across to the whole school that the two of them were an item, but it still drove Puck insane.

Before long, Kurt's cheeks and neck were flushed from the exercise and Puck was reminded of how the boy's skin looked after a hot make out session. After school was not soon enough. He wanted to rip all Kurt's clothes off and get him screaming in pleasure. He wanted to touch and kiss everywhere. He wanted to fuck Kurt, so badly, but he knew that was out of the question for the time being. Eventually though, if Puck could avoid screwing things up every other day, it would happen.

In the mean time, once everyone knew about them, Puck could hold Kurt's hand in the hallways. He could take the boy out on fancy dates and then let Kurt drag him into the Navigator for some action that had no dress code. They would be together for a long time, at least. And if any of the kids had a problem with it, Puck had at least three other football players on his side that would help dole out the worst punishment known to high school boys – the swirlie. Hell, if Figgins started spewing Jesus-crap about him and Kurt, Puck would subject that fucker to a swirlie, too. No one was free from the wrath of Puck.

Just as the early-morning practice drew to an end, Puck's phone rang, and he saw it was his mom calling, "'sup," he answered the phone as casually as he could.

"Noah," his mom's voice scolded, "where are you? There was just this note… What do you mean, you can't stand living in my house anymore, young man?"

"Exactly what it says, Ma," Noah spat back, gratefully taking Kurt's hand when the boy offered it. "I can't live there if Andy is moving in."

"This is ridiculous! You're seventeen, Noah. You can't just _decide_ to move out!"

"I can when you decided, _without me_, that it would be a good idea for that bigoted asshole bastard to move in!"

"Noah!" his mom gasped. "I will not have you talk to me like that!"

"Well then, I won't talk to you," Puck growled, hanging up the phone and handing it to Kurt before he did something stupid like throw it across the room. "Let's go to school, babe. Give my mom one less thing to gripe at me about."

Kurt squeezed Puck's hand and nodded silently, leading him from the dance studio.

* * *

That night, lying together in Kurt's backseat, after they'd been making out for awhile, Kurt whispered, "I'm ready to see you, Noah. Without clothes in the way."

Growling in anticipation, Puck whispered, "I thought I was _groveling_, baby. That seems like a reward to me."

"All that dancing today was pretty hot," Kurt smiled and said in explanation, slipping from the bench to kneel on the floor. "And you love me."

"Yeah," Puck agreed, bending down and kissing Kurt soundly. "I mean, it's not like I'm gonna refuse…"

"Then don't," Kurt murmured, his hand going for Puck's fly and popping open the button. The late afternoon sun beaming in the tinted windows of Kurt's Navigator was perfect for actually seeing what Noah had in his pants. Much better than the pitch black, now-off-limits janitor's closet. Focusing so his hand wouldn't tremble, Kurt found the pull of Puck's zipper and tugged it down, spreading the two halves of the fly apart and lifting up Puck's shirt. "Oh my god."

"What?" Puck asked, propping himself up on his elbows to watch Kurt. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Kurt said sharply, his eyes focused on Noah's cock. "No, nothing's _wrong_." Kurt felt like all the moisture had suddenly left his mouth, even though the tingling in his jaw meant he was about to start drooling. Puck was perfect! And, Kurt appreciated how most of his hair was trimmed down neatly. He hadn't expected that from the jock. Really, how could he have been nervous about _this_? This was, "Incredible."

"Thanks, baby," Noah chuckled, wiggling his hips a little, which broke Kurt out of his trance and made him laugh.

"I mean," he continued, reaching out one hand to trace a finger down Puck's dick, smiling when the boy shivered and let his head fall back with a little gasp, "I _knew_ you were bigger than me, just feeling through your clothes."

Puck gave a strained laugh that devolved into a moan as Kurt carefully let all four fingers brush down the side of his boyfriend's cock. "I've sort of seen you in the locker room. And I had those pictures, but they didn't really give me the _scale_ of this thing! Holy shit!"

"Now you know why," Puck shuddered as Kurt grabbed him and started stroking, "my pool cleaning business did so well."

"Gross!" Kurt laughed, dropping Noah's cock back onto his stomach. "Can we _not_ talk about how many nasty old cougars and other girls you've been with? It kind of skeeves me out."

"Alright, alright!" Puck agreed, his head coming back up so he could look Kurt in the eye, his expressive brows all anxious and pleading. "Just don't fucking _stop_!"

Trailing another light finger from head to base, Kurt smirked and said, "What was it you called me the other week? A cock-tease?"

"Fucking _don't_!" Noah growled. "Or I swear to god-nggh!" His words were cut off when an urge struck Kurt and he grabbed the shaft of Puck's dick again before licking the head experimentally. He licked again and Noah cried, "Ohhh!"

"Mmm," Kurt smirked, loving the expression on Puck's clenched jaw, since that was all he could see of his boyfriend's face. "You taste … salty."

"Gah!"

Kurt took another taste, breathing in this time and getting a heady whiff of soap, from Puck's post-practice shower, and _guy_. It was one of the best, most arousing things he'd ever smelled or tasted. Kurt also liked how smooth the skin of Puck's cock was against his lips and tongue, since most of Puck's skin elsewhere was rough and hairy, even the softer skin at the small of his back.

"Would you," Puck groaned, getting Kurt's attention on his face, which was now watching his boyfriend explore. Swallowing nervously, he asked, "Would you … like … you know?"

"Blow you?"

"Yeah," Noah sighed in relief, which made Kurt chuckle again.

And then he remembered, "I don't really know how."

"You were doing pretty good so far, babe," Puck murmured, his hips twitching upwards. "Just … more. Haven't you ever seen porn?"

"Maybe I need a demonstration, first," Kurt smiled, licking Puck's cock once more before setting it back down again and crawling over his boyfriend. "You _are_ supposed to be groveling…"

"Hummel," Noah growled, switching their positions before tugging his pants all the way down and getting rid of his shirt. (Holy crap, this guy had a fantastic body!) Then, he attacked the button of Kurt's pants and said, "If I do this, you'd better return the favor. Because sucking cock? Pretty fucking gay."

"I love you," Kurt said cutely, rising up his hips so Noah could pull his pants away.

"Yeah, yeah," Noah smiled, curling his fingers over the waistband of Kurt's underwear – green today – and pulling them down to join the clothes on the floor. Then, Puck slipped down to kneel on the floor, looking up at Kurt with pure sex in his eyes. "Take off your shirt, baby," he smirked as he took Kurt's dick in his hand, stroking it like Kurt had gotten used to over the past week. How could he have asked for anything better than this? The way Noah touched him made Kurt's whole body tremble, which made it difficult to get rid of his sweater and the turtleneck underneath.

And then, Kurt's boyfriend did the impossible and made perfect _better_ by swiping his tongue around the head of Kurt's dick, murmuring, "Hmm. You're right, babe. Salty." And then, he pulled the first few inches into his scorching hot mouth and _sucked_.

"Agh! Shit, Noah!" Kurt had to screw his eyes shut for fear of blacking out in ecstasy, especially when Noah swiped the moist spit around the head of his dick down to the base with his hand and did the sucking thing again, his lips traveling down farther, chasing his hand. Everything, every nerve ending was on fire, and then Noah's head started bobbing up and down, his hand giving pressure where his lips and tongue couldn't. "Ah! So good! ... Ahhh!"

Kurt came harder than he ever had in his life, after less than two minutes of attention from Noah's mouth. Puck swallowed loudly and then started laughing. Feeling out of sorts and insulted, Kurt cracked open one lid and gave his boyfriend the evil eye. "What?"

"Absolutely _no_ stamina, Hummel!" With a grin, Noah tugged on Kurt's dick one last time before licking up the fluid that escaped, which made Kurt jump in surprise and shriek. Chuckling, Noah met Kurt's eyes and said, "Damn, you taste good!"

"Well," Kurt laughed, trying to remember how it felt not to have your heart valiantly making a break for it by beating through your chest, "I do maintain a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables."

"Time for the meat group?" Puck asked, pulling Kurt so he was lying down on the back seat and Puck was hovering over him. "I could fuck your face if you want. That would be easy for you."

"No!" Kurt shivered and laughed, slipping from the bench seat and pushing at Noah's arm so he collapsed, laughing. "There will be no face-fucking today. You're just about the grossest boy ever, aren't you?"

"Mmm," Noah agreed, pulling Kurt's head up to meet his with strong arms, kissing him solidly. "And you're the one naked in here with me, so what does that say about you, Hummel?"

"That I'm desperate?" Kurt said with a shrug and a straight face.

"You already got blown!" Noah complained. "I'm the desperate one here!"

"You're also the one with the monster cock," Kurt said, grabbing said appendage and trying to figure out how to get any of it in his mouth.

"Fuck, baby!" he hissed. "Give me a handjob! Sit on my dick and let me rub one out! Anything!"

Liking Noah's desperation, Kurt reached up and kissed his boyfriend again soundly, letting their tongues brush over each other while he stroked downward and then tugged upward. Puck groaned and his cock got harder, which Kurt found irresistible. Dropping back down, Kurt did his best, relying on Noah's earlier demonstration, instinct and common sense, pulling a string of curses from Puck's lips as he fit his mouth around the head of Puck's dick. "Oh, fuck, baby. Yes, Kurt, yes! ... Suck that cock ... Fuck, yes. So hard for you, baby! ... Just a little more, please! ... Ahh!"

When Noah came, Kurt almost choked on the hot, bitter liquid, so he pulled away, letting the rest of Puck's come spurt over the boy's stomach and chest. He swallowed the mouthful he already had, and rubbed his sore jaw, saying, "Ugh! Either you're gayer than I am, or you taste _terrible_."

Puck started laughing, his whole body sprawled limply on Kurt's back seat. "Sorry, babe," he sighed, before lifting up his head and drawing one finger though the fluid on his stomach and putting it in his mouth, smacking his lips a few times. Kurt never thought Puck would be the kind of guy who would taste his own stuff, but then again, he never thought Puck would be the kind of guy who would fall in love with Kurt, either. "Damn, you're right," Puck said, pulling a disgusted face. "You taste much better."

Kurt laughed and bent over the back of the seat to find the towel that he'd noticed Finn had left back there last week some time, throwing it onto his boyfriend's chest and letting him clean off. When Puck was done, he threw the towel over the seat and tugged Kurt down to lie on his chest, acres of skin on skin.

As Noah's arms wrapped around him, holding him close, Kurt sighed in contentment. He knew the outside world was waiting for them – dinner and more glee practice and homework – but all Kurt wanted to do was lie here in his boyfriend's arms. He thought about what was coming up on Thursday and it occurred to him that maybe he should tell his dad and Carole about Puck before the whole town started talking about it and it got back to them before Kurt had a chance to do it in person. So, drawing a deep breath for courage, Kurt asked, "Come home with me for dinner? I want you there when I tell my dad we're seeing each other."

"Why?" Puck asked. "So he can kill me?"

"He won't kill you, Puck," Kurt rolled his eyes, turning his face so he could meet Puck's eyes. "Unless you tell him we do more than just kiss."

"So I shouldn't compliment him on his son's cock-sucking abilities?" Noah laughed, hugging Kurt tighter to his deliciously muscled chest.

"Not under any circumstances," Kurt growled, the shiny metal of Puck's nipple ring catching his attention. Carefully, he flicked at it with his tongue, just to see what would happen. Noah gasped and bucked under him, grabbing Kurt's arms painfully tightly.

"Don't," he smirked, raising one eyebrow, "do that again. Unless you want to start something we don't have time for, babe."

Kurt nodded, returning Noah's smile and thinking he'd never done anything as fun as going down on his boyfriend.

* * *

_Song used: "Dig" by Incubus. I know I just had an Incubus song in Chapter 9, but I love the placement of both songs, so there you go!_

_Please review!_


	12. Witness

_A/N: The response to this story is overwhelming, you guys! I haven't been getting back to you all, because there's just no time, but I want to thank each and every one of you who have reviewed any of the previous chapters. It means a lot to me._

* * *

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 12 - Witness

Why had Puck agreed to this? Was it the blowjob clouding his judgment? He and Kurt were waiting for Burt Hummel to get home, sitting in the living room with Finn's mom, watching a rerun of _Project Runway_. He was so nervous, he felt like puking. It was one thing to tell his friends that he and Kurt were together, it was quite another to tell his boyfriend's parents. The last dad he'd met was Jenna's, and that guy had been threatening to murder Puck with a shotgun for being in his daughter's bed. He'd never met Quinn's parents, though he had seen them at football games when Quinn was still on the cheerleading squad. Hell, Puck didn't know if he'd ever met one of his girlfriends' parents. Santana had refused to introduce him to her dad, because he didn't know she was even dating, much less sleeping with half the boys in their class. So meeting a dad over dinner was new to him.

He was sitting a few feet away from Kurt, since Carole was in the room and they were going to tell her at the same time as Mr. Hummel, so Puck had to lean over to ask in a whisper, "Does your dad own a shotgun?"

Kurt turned a disbelieving and amused expression on Puck, shaking his head. "Not that I know of." Then, Puck's boyfriend whispered with an even tone, "But he's got a high-powered hunting rifle in the garage safe. Worried are we?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Puck nodded. "If I die, you can split my stuff with Finn."

"Oh, thanks," Kurt said with a chuckle, rolling his eyes. "Like you would even have anything I would want…"

Puck opened his mouth to argue but then he realized that he probably _didn't_ have anything Kurt would want. Shit. He'd better not die, then.

"Hey!" Mr. Hummel's voice shouted in from the front hallway. "I'm home! Where are you guys?"

"In here," Carole called, switching off the TV, ignoring Kurt's strangled protest that the show was almost over. "You're staying for dinner, Noah?" Carole had been feeding Puck at least once a week since he made friends with Finn in third grade, so the question was nothing new. Except that Finn wasn't here and this dinner was going to be totally different than all the others.

"Uh," he said, checking with Kurt before he nodded. "Please. Thanks, Mrs. Hudson."

"Hey, honey?" Burt's voice said, getting louder as it approached, "Have you seen my – oh. Hello, Puck." Mr. Hummel looked around the room before asking, "Where's Finn?"

"Over at Rachel's house, dad," Kurt smiled, stepping forward and taking Noah's arm in his hands. "Puck's here to visit me today."

"Oh," Mr. Hummel nodded with a questioning glance to his girlfriend, who just shrugged. "That's … nice."

Puck sat across from Kurt, in Finn's usual seat apparently, and thanked both parents again before sharing a look with Kurt while Carole pulled a casserole out of the oven and sat it on the table. Since Puck was the guest, he got first dibs on the food, which smelled good enough to make his mouth water, but he was too nervous to really have much of an appetite.

When everyone had food, Kurt spoke up, saying, "Dad, Carole, I have an announcement."

Burt shrugged at his wife before turning to Kurt and asking, "What is it, son? Did you get some sort of special singing award or somethin'?"

"No, dad," Kurt said, and Puck noticed that his eyes were wider than normal. Was he nervous, too? God, that didn't fare well for Puck, did it? He wondered if he could get out of arm's reach and running before Mr. Hummel could throttle him. He _was_ the fastest dude on the team. Puck had half made up his mind to get up and out of the way when he met Kurt's eyes again, noticing the way his boyfriend was begging with him to stay put. Fine. Puck nodded and Kurt turned back to his dad. "Um. I'm dating Noah."

"Noah?" Burt asked, shaking his head. "Noah, who? Dating?" In the mean time, Carole looked at Puck in surprise, putting her hand over his arm on the table and patting it before sort of smiling at him. Oh. He guessed that was good. Puck smiled back at the lady who felt kind of like his second mom, glad there wasn't any disgust in her expression.

"_Puck_, dad," Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded across the table at Noah. "Puck. His first name is Noah."

"This Puck?" Mr. Hummel asked, pointing at Noah and waiting for his son's high-eyebrowed nod. "Huh." The guy turned to Puck, setting a hard eye on him before asking, "Aren't you the kid that knocked up Finn's girlfriend last year?"

"Dad!" Kurt complained, but Puck felt like he had to answer.

"Yeah, Mr. Hummel," Noah said. "It was an accident. I know better now."

Burt laughed sort of nervously and said, "I should _hope_ so!" Then, he looked down at his plate and took another bite before looking back up at Noah and pointing at him with his fork. "So, you and my son, huh?"

Kurt's dad was being pretty cool so far, so Puck smiled nervously and said, "Yes, sir."

"And you do realize that despite the scented lotions and the scarves and things, that Kurt isn't a girl?"

Puck laughed and nodded, which made Burt smile, so he guessed that was a good sign. "I like girls _and_ boys, Mr. Hummel. I'm glad Kurt is a boy."

"Good," Mr. Hummel nodded, taking another bite. "And you'll be safe with him? You know … if things get serious?"

"Dad!" Kurt complained again, which made Carole chuckle and Puck smile.

"I promise. I … really like Kurt, sir," Noah said, smiling over the table at Kurt. "Like, a _lot_. We'll be careful."

"Good," Burt nodded, smiling over at Kurt. "I'm happy for you boys. Say, did anyone see who the Buckeyes were playing this week? I can't remember."

"Michigan State," Puck supplied, actually feeling relaxed enough to hazard taking a bite.

"Spartans, huh?" Burt nodded, "Should be a good game. You gonna watch it?"

"No," Puck replied, smiling at his boyfriend again, "Sectionals are this Saturday."

"Oh, that's right!" Carole grinned, sounding a lot more interested in that than the football talk. "How are things going with Glee club, boys?"

The conversation continued on from there and halfway through, Puck got his appetite back. He'd woken up early, danced like crazy before school, during third period glee practice, and had been barked at for two and a half hours after school by a crazy woman who called herself a coach. He was _starving_. Once dinner was over, Puck thanked Carole, saying, "Dinner was delicious, Mrs. Hudson."

"I guess so!" she cried as he helped her clear up the table and bring the dishes to the kitchen. "You certainly ate enough! It's a good thing Finn was at Rachel's house tonight, or you two might have eaten us out of house and home!"

"Just like old times," Puck nodded with a fond smile.

"Noah, sweetie?" Carole asked him then, grabbing Puck's arm so he couldn't go back to the dining room. "Have you told your mom about dating Kurt?"

"Not yet," Puck hanged his head and shook it. "I … I moved out yesterday."

"Oh, honey," she cried, petting his shoulder in comfort. "What happened? Do you need a place to stay?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Hudson," Puck smiled, "but I'm actually staying with Rachel and her dads. See, my mom started dating this guy that thinks people like me and Kurt are just 'misguided.' I couldn't stay there with him moving in."

Noah let Mrs. Hudson hug him for a few moments before she pulled back and said, "You should tell her, honey. Should I invite her here for dinner? So you don't have to go home to tell her?"

"Would you?" Puck asked in disbelief. "That would be amazing. That way she and Andy can't go ape shit on me when I tell them. Or, when they find out from someone else sooner rather than later."

"Watch your language, Noah Puckerman!" Carole scolded, tapping his chest with a laugh. "And yes, I'd be happy to help you. Who knows? Maybe when your mom knows who you love, she'll change her mind about it."

"Maybe," he nodded, smiling when Kurt came into the room.

"Don't you think it's time to take Noah home?" Carole asked him with a smile. "You still have homework to do, don't you?"

"We both do," Kurt nodded with a sigh. "C'mon Puck. I'll drive you back to your truck."

"Thanks, babe," Puck smiled, threading his hand into Kurt's and waving goodbye to Carole and then Burt. On their way out to the car, after Burt had called after them to make it quick, Puck told his boyfriend about Carole's plan.

"Do you want me there?" Kurt asked, unlocking the car.

"Yeah," Puck nodded as he hopped into the passenger seat. "And that went much better with your dad than I thought it would."

"It did," Kurt chuckled. "I hope he won't have second thoughts about you later, once he finds out more about your rep."

"Fuck," he sighed, frowning when Kurt laughed at him and started the car. Dead tired, Puck sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, nervous for the next day. This whole week was just one long shit storm, wasn't it? He wished he could wait to tell his mom until after Sectionals, but he was sure word of his big number on Thursday would get around fast and he knew his mom would never forgive him for letting her find out from a stranger that her son was boning another dude.

* * *

Puck got the call from his mom as he was parking outside Rachel's house, so he picked up, "Hi, Ma."

"Don't you 'Hi, Ma' me, Noah Puckerman!" his mom said in her best Jewish mom voice. "Why do I have to be invited over to Carole Hudson's house to see my son?"

"How about because I don't feel safe being around _Andy_ without some witnesses?" Puck told her. "Just accept the invitation, Ma."

"Witnesses? This is completely out of left field! What's going on with you?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Puck insisted. "I've got a lot of homework to do and I've got to be up fucking early."

"Argh!" she growled in frustration. "This is insanity! Will you at least tell me where you're staying? Is it with Mrs. Hudson?"

"No, Ma," he sighed. "And if I tell you now, you'll just come over and argue and I don't have time for that."

"You don't have time for your own mother?"

"No!" he cried. "Goodnight!" Then, he hung up and put his phone on silent, letting himself into the Berrys' front door and wishing he could just go back to his own house. Except in his daydream, his mom wasn't there to yell at him. It was just him and his sister, like it used to be when his mom worked the night shift. And then, when Sarah went to bed, he could invite Kurt over and they could do … things that were getting Puck worked up again just thinking about.

Fuck, when would this week just _end_?

* * *

Kurt got home at the same time as Finn, so he told his almost-step-brother, "Puck and I told my dad and your mom about us."

"Oh," Finn nodded, looking down at him as they reached the front door. "Did it go … okay?"

"Yeah," Kurt replied, laughing nervously to himself at how easy it had been. It was like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Thanks."

"So much going on this week! ... Anything else I can do to help?" Finn offered. Kurt thought that was awfully nice of him. Well, Finn had always been pretty nice to him, and that was one of the reasons for Kurt's crush. Now he'd fallen for the bad boy instead. Oh, how a year changes things…

"No," Kurt decided. "I would ask you to do some of my homework for me, but that would probably be worse on my grades than just skipping it altogether."

"Hey!" Finn laughed, ushering Kurt in. "I'm not that dumb."

"Keep telling yourself that," Kurt smiled, retreating into his bedroom for the first time since dawn that morning. And so much had happened in one day. He and Noah had made up. And then gotten naked together. _That_ had been a lot of fun. Kurt smiled again, remembering how Noah had said he loved him, and then gasped when he remembered how Noah had wrapped his lips and tongue around Kurt's dick. Oh, if so much else hadn't happened, like exchanging the big "I love you"s, that would have been the highlight of his day. Maybe he could count it as the highlight of his year so far.

Knowing that he would get in trouble if he didn't, Kurt called Mercedes and filled her in on what had happened, including the fact that he'd gone down on Puck.

"Ohh! How was it, boy?" she asked, and Kurt laughed at the tone in her voice, almost like she was hunching there, rubbing her hands together at the prospect of a juicy bit of gossip.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone else, Mercedes," Kurt said sternly. "Not even Quinn. _Especially _not Quinn."

"Kurt, honey," Mercedes sighed, "you're no fun."

"Do you want to hear about Puck's mammoth dick or not?"

Mercedes squealed and giggled, "Oh my god, Kurt! Okay, I don't need details. But it was good?"

"Oh, yes," Kurt agreed, pulling his books from his bag so he could get started on the boatload of homework he had. "Really, _really _good."

"I'm so happy for you, Kurt," she sighed.

"Next step on the agenda after Sectionals," Kurt suggested, "find Mercedes a new beau?"

"Oh, you don't have to –"

"Please, girl!" Kurt chuckled. "I am not leaving my best friend hanging! We'll get you a boyfriend and then we can go out on double dates!"

"Oh, dates with three cute boys?" Mercedes said. "Count me in!"

"Alright, gorgeous," Kurt smiled and said goodbye, hoping that this thing with Puck would stay going strong for long enough to find Mercedes someone special. Most high school relationships didn't last very long. Kurt knew that. But what he and Noah had was better right? They loved each other. And, he did not relish diving back into a sea in which there were hardly any fish for him.

* * *

When the time came to leave Cheerios practice and go to Kurt's house for dinner with his mom, Puck wasn't nearly ready for it. He told Kurt this much as they sat together in the locker room getting dressed. The football players were mostly done by the time they got there and the other male cheerleaders didn't take very long, so they were alone.

"Sweetie," Kurt said while buttoning up his shirt, "it's going to be okay. She'll freak out, go home, and calm down. In a couple of weeks, everything will work out."

"Sure," Puck nodded with a sigh before hauling himself up to finish getting dressed. He didn't think Kurt was being very realistic, believing that everything would work out so quickly. What if his mom never spoke to him again? What if his sister felt abandoned, like he had when their dad left? What if it turned out in the end that Kurt wasn't worth it? What if Puck started missing boobs and wanted to be with a girl? What if they broke up?

He didn't want to break up. He wanted to be with Kurt for a long time. But they were still in high school. What if Puck never found another guy he wanted to date? He'd be normal again on the outside, but he'd still remember how insanely hot messing around with Kurt's dick was. He wouldn't ever be normal.

But that was okay. He was a badass and could pull off bisexual just as well as Bowie if he wanted. Minus all the fruity spaceman costumes. He was Puck. He didn't have to be normal.

Puck and Kurt sat next to each other at the dinner table when the doorbell rang. Carole went to greet them and soon Puck heard, "Where's my son? You can't keep him from me forever, Carole Hudson!"

Carole's response was quieter and Puck heard Burt chime into the conversation. Oh, and there was the bastard's voice. Well, he'd get a shock, wouldn't he? Puck grabbed Kurt's hand under the table and squeezed for some courage. Tomorrow was going to be a breeze compared to this!

"...we'll have dinner," Burt's voice said, approaching the dining room, "and sort all this out."

Everyone filed in then and Puck took his hand back from Kurt, standing to greet them. Burt was followed by Andy-the-Asshole, then Puck's mom, then Sarah - who he hadn't been expecting and gave him an excited wave - Carole, and Finn, who Puck hadn't even realized was home. His friend sat on Puck's other side, giving him an encouraging smile, and his family sat across the table. Puck's mom and her boyfriend both looked angry, but Sarah smiled happily at him and said, "Hi, Kurt!" to his boyfriend.

Carole and Finn got everyone drinks and brought out the food while Burt tried to make polite conversation. Eventually, when everyone had food, Puck's mom just said, "Cut the crap, Hummel. Is Noah going to tell me what's going on or not?"

Thinking about how brave Kurt had been the night before and how nice Burt and Carole and Finn were being to them, Puck held his chin up high and said, "Mom? This is Kurt."

"I know who he is, dear. We met when he came over to do homework," her eyes flashed over Sarah's head to Andy's and they both frowned, probably thinking the same thing - Puck had suddenly developed bad taste in friends.

Well get a load of this, "He's my boyfriend. We've been dating."

"Your _boyfriend_?" she asked with a strangled chuckle, like she hoped Puck was joking. When he nodded solemnly, her face fell, the smile fading into a deep frown as she searched the other faces at the table. "But, but, all those _girls _you've dated? Quinn? You can't be gay!"

"I'm not," Puck said with a sneering smile at Andy, who kept opening his mouth, like he was trying to find something appropriately hostile to say.

"But then-"

"I'm bi." There. Puck said it, and the shocked looks on their faces was definitely worth it. Feeling like he had to keep going, Puck told his mom and Andy, "Kurt totally does it for me. And I'm not _confused _or _misguided_. I'm a stud and I know what I want, so I couldn't live in a place where I'd be getting shit about this day in and day out."

"Language," Kurt sang softly beside him, putting his hand over Puck's on the table, that innocent touch setting Andy off.

With a scowl, he set down his fork and said, "Noah! You can't be serious."

_You're such an inspiration for the ways  
That I will never, ever choose to be_

"Oh, I'm serious, _An-dy_!" Puck shot back, keeping his chin held high and noticing how even Finn had put his fork down to watch the scene unfolding around him. "Does my love life disgust you or something?"

"Yes," Andy replied, his blue eyes red-rimmed with anger. "This isn't right or even _natural_."

_Oh, so many ways for me to show you  
How your savior has abandoned you._

Puck noticed how furious Burt was getting, how Kurt sat tensely upright beside him and how both Hudsons were shaking their heads. Even Sarah was looking at Andy with her mouth open in disbelief. "Feels pretty natural to me," Puck said, throwing his arm around Kurt's shoulder and pulling the other boy closer, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

_Fuck your God, your Lord, your Christ  
He did this._

Puck's mom shrieked quietly while her boyfriend frowned like Puck had just taken a dump all over the driver's seat of his precious car. "You're worrying your mother to death with this nonsense. This ends-"

"Excuse me?" Burt interjected, setting his fork down too. "Did you just call my son's first real relationship _nonsense_? Not to mention wrong and _unnatural_? I'll remind you you're in _my house_, sir!"

"Here he goes," Finn whispered beside Puck, digging into his food like he couldn't bear to watch.

"I don't know how you've raised your son, Burt," Andy fought back and Puck wondered if Kurt's dad would end up punching the guy. That would be perfect. "But you obviously did something wrong for him to turn out to be such a fag."

"Andy!" Puck's mom tried to calm her boyfriend down, which made Puck hopeful that she wasn't as closed-minded as him. Or maybe she was just smarter, since Burt looked more pissed off with every second.

"How _dare_ you use that word? There's nothing wrong with Kurt!" Burt snarled, standing up and leaning over Andy. "He was born the way he was born and that's it! There's nothin' wrong with Noah either!"

"He just needs a strong male role model in his life," Andy insisted, standing up to stare Burt down. At this sentence, Puck couldn't help but let a guffaw escape his lips. Strong male role model, Puck's ass! Of course the laugh got a frown from his mother. "If Noah comes home, I'll get him straightened out."

"The fuck you will!" Burt yelled, his eyes full of fury. "Now, get out of my house! I was all set to help you solve this dispute with Noah so he could go home, but I'd rather invite him to stay under my roof than send him back with a hateful person like you! Just think what you're teaching this little girl! You're teaching her to hate her own brother just because he's dating a boy! You're breaking up a family with your hatred!"

_Took all you had and left you  
This way, still you pray, never stray,  
Never taste of the fruit.  
Never thought to question why._

"I'll pray for you people," Andy insisted, his face still twisted up in an ugly scowl. "C'mon Ruth, Sarah. We're leaving."

Puck stood up and followed them through the front hall, pulling his mom's arm so he could speak to her quietly, "I know you're not as hateful as Andy. If you dump his ass, I'll come home."

_It's not like you killed someone.  
It's not like you drove  
A hateful spear into his side.  
Praise the one who left you  
Broken down and paralyzed._

"What are you doing, Noah?" she asked. "This isn't you. This isn't my baby boy. What's wrong with dating girls? They don't even have to be Jewish, if you don't want."

"Nothing's wrong with dating girls, Ma," Puck shook his head. "But I'm falling for _Kurt_. Can't you see how important he is to me?"

"Can't you see how important Andy is to me? If you don't want me dictating your love life, why are you trying to dictate mine?"

Puck's chest clenched at those words and he spat, "I was part of this family first! And at least my boyfriend doesn't hate you for being born a Jew or with brown hair or with the birthmark on your arm."

"You weren't born this way!"

"I didn't just one day catch gayness, Ma," Puck scoffed. "I just never was brave enough to admit there were some boys I liked. Not until I started liking Kurt."

"I don't know you _at all_," Puck's mom cried, pulling her arm out of his grasp and shaking her head. "You're _seventeen_ Noah, you belong at home, but you sure as hell aren't going to wreck the one good relationship I've had since your father left with this _stunt _of yours!"

"Then, goodbye, Ma," he sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest and staring her down until she shook her head and left, herding Sarah in front of her and out to where Andy had already started that fucking Audi of his and was waiting for them.

Kurt came up behind him and carefully put his arms around Puck's waist before he asked softly, "Are you okay?"

"No," Puck shook his head, his stomach sick with anger and grief. "Your dad was right. That asshole is destroying my family."

"You're not going to start blaming me again, are you?" Kurt asked, his high voice soft and afraid.

"No," Puck insisted, turning away from the street his family had disappeared down and into Kurt's arms. "I'd rather be here with you."

_He did it all for you._

"We still on for tomorrow during lunch?" the shorter boy asked, burying his face in Puck's shoulder. "We could wait to do it until Monday."

"No," Puck growled, squeezing Kurt tighter and pressing his face into Kurt's neck, breathing in the comforting and arousing smell of him. "We're doing this tomorrow. Everyone's going to know I'm yours and that we are too badass to fuck with about it."

Kurt laughed, the breath from his nose tickling Puck's neck. "I wish you could stay here. It would be easier to fall asleep."

Puck chuckled and whispered, "No it wouldn't. I'd be trying to get in your pants all night! Get my mouth on that tasty dick of yours and-"

Burt Hummel cleared his throat from the end of the hallway and even though Puck was pretty sure the guy couldn't have heard him, he jumped away from Kurt and blushed so much he thought that he might spontaneously combust. "Still up to finishing dinner, boys?"

Kurt looked to Puck, who sighed and nodded, "Thanks, Mr. Hummel. That was really cool of you back there."

"It was my pleasure, Noah," Burt said shortly. "And I meant it about you staying here. Not in _Kurt's_ room of course," as the man paused, Kurt sent Puck a look that said, "I told you so." "But we'd figure something out. I'd rather have you here and safe than somewhere you're hated or out on the streets, or somethin'."

"Thanks," Puck replied, taking one last look at the door that had taken his family away. "I'm pretty set up at the moment at Rachel's. But I really do appreciate the offer."

_Oh so many ways for me to show you  
How your dogma has abandoned you._

* * *

As Kurt watched his boyfriend drive away, going back to spend another night in a house that wasn't his own, he couldn't help but let the stress of the past few days escape as tears tumbling from his eyes. This was all messed up. It felt like Puck shouldn't be sacrificing this much to be with him. Yes, Kurt wanted them out and proud to everyone, but this was a much higher cost than he had anticipated. There had just been so much _hate_ in Andy's eyes and Noah's mom didn't stand up for him like Kurt's dad always had. God, it sucked and the only thing that could possibly make it better was breaking up with Noah.

And Kurt knew that offer would not go over well _at all_. He might even get dumpster tossed in retaliation.

When he heard someone step up behind him, Kurt wiped away the tears in his eyes and sniffed back some of the snot dripping from his nose, wishing he had a handkerchief.

"Hey, dude," Finn said softly behind Kurt.

"Hey," Kurt replied with a little smile for his almost-step-brother. "I'm sorry for all the drama."

"I'm not," Finn insisted, sitting down on the front stoop at Kurt's feet, even though the concrete had to be kind of cold, since the days were getting pretty chilly this far into the fall.

Kurt sat down next to him, realizing that yes, the step was _extremely_ cold, and asked, "Why? Noah's going through so much right now. All because of me…"

"No," Finn shook his head. "You don't know Puck's mom like I do. This isn't just about you."

Kurt realized that his step-brother's first assertion was probably true. Finn and Noah had grown up together, at the same elementary school, while Kurt hadn't met either of them until high school. He'd gone to one of Lima's other elementary schools, on the other side of town with people like Rachel and Quinn. People whose parents were well enough off to afford houses on the nicer side of town. Finn Hudson's old house, while homey, had been very small and was in a neighborhood with lots of apartment buildings and houses that were rented month-to-month. Like the one Noah lived in.

Needing to know more about the boy he loved, Kurt asked his friend, "What is it about, then?"

"Puck's dad," Finn replied, brushing one hand through his hair. "Puck loved his old man. A lot. And for much longer than Mrs. Puckerman did after the guy left. Puck and his mom have been fighting about him for ten years."

"Puck doesn't want another dad," Kurt said. "I know that much. Are you saying if any guy was moving in with his mom, Puck would have moved out?"

"Nah. He's been threatening to for years. It was going to happen eventually, no matter what," Finn answered with a shake of his head, finally turning to look at Kurt. "He actually did it for three days in eighth grade before his mom convinced him to come back with a new Xbox. She's always going all hot and cold on him, you know? Washing his hair for him one minute and blaming everything bad in her life on him the next. If it wasn't about her boyfriend hating you, it would have been about something else. This isn't your fault."

"Oh," Kurt said, trying to look comforted, but somehow he wasn't. Instead he felt gypped. He wasn't worth all this trouble. He wasn't worth the romantic gesture he thought Noah was performing. He was just an excuse. "Well, I feel so much better."

Finn smiled and looked away. God, he never caught on to people's real emotions, did he? After swallowing the hurt, Kurt managed to ask, "So, why aren't you sorry? For all the drama?"

"Because," Finn said, watching a car pass, "without the fear of her griping at him all the time, he's not such an asshole. He's more himself, like those three days in eighth grade or when he's really into a video game. I may not really get this thing between you two, but it seems to make you both happy. I just think it'll work out better if Puck isn't being an asshole."

"I see," Kurt nodded, taking a moment to really study the boy beside him in the dim light coming from the house. "That's sort of … _sweet_, Finn. In a guy-logic sort of way."

"That's what I'm here for," Finn smiled, standing and offering Kurt a hand up. "Oh, and I'm really good at changing light bulbs and reaching the top shelves of cupboards too."

Kurt found himself laughing all of a sudden, caught off guard by Finn's joke. "I'll keep it in mind," Kurt said as they went back into the house and approached the main hallway behind the front room, which lead in one direction to Finn's room and in the other to Kurt's basement. "And, thanks. For the talk."

"Anytime," Finn nodded, heading for his room and absentmindedly brushing his fingertips along the ceiling. That boy really was too tall for him, in the end. Noah was a perfect height, just less than half a head taller than Kurt. He made Kurt feel safe, protected, without feeling dwarfed. More like an equal, if bicep circumference wasn't taken into account. No, Kurt was glad he'd given up on Finn when he had, because they never would have happened and he'd been able to open himself up to the idea of dating Noah. Noah who was cute and sexy, strong and cocky, bold and sensitive. He sang, he danced, he was a secret romantic and a stubborn prick. He loved Kurt.

And Kurt couldn't help but love him back.

* * *

_Song used: "Judith" by A Perfect Circle, which is one of my all-time favorite songs. I'm sorry if you're Christian and were offended, but hey, free speech and all that. I also think it's the ultimate "having religious issues with a parent" song. And MJK is fucking amazing. If you haven't heard this song, I can't recommend it enough._

_So, yeah. Go ahead and review! I read and fawn over each and every one, so let me know what you think. Especially about how how Burt came across in both dinner scenes…_

_The next chapter will be posted on Tuesday. Try to hold on until then!  
_


	13. The Big Day

_A/N: This has been a record month for me, readership-wise and I want to thank everyone again for reading! Now, on with the show!_

_

* * *

_

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 13 – The Big Day

The day of Puck's big performance arrived, and he decided to put all the shit with his mom and her asshole boyfriend behind him. He could figure them out later, if at all. This performance was right now, and it had to be as badass as he could make it. He didn't need his mommy anymore. He didn't need approval from his classmates, though it would be nice. All Puck had to do was get up there, declare his love for his boyfriend, and look bitchin' doing it. That way, no one would dare hassle him about being with another dude. And hey, it might make them think for a minute before hassling Kurt if a guy like Puck, a jock and a badass, could be a bona fide cocksucker and proud of it.

Before choir third period, Quinn caught Puck and pulled him aside in the hallway, saying softly, "Today's the big day."

Puck thought she looked sad again and it made his chest hurt. She hadn't wanted him. Of all the girls he'd dated, she was the only one who he wanted, but didn't want him back. She'd never really wanted him. So what now? "Is ..." Puck sighed as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. "It'd be okay if you wanted to sit this one out, you know."

"I know," she nodded, and Puck could see that she was tearing up a little before she brushed one eye with deft, soft fingers. "But I want to be there for you. Like I wasn't before. I need to do this."

"So … you're okay? I mean," Puck didn't want to give into her like this again. Waiting for her, letting her tromp all over his heart because Finn was the better boyfriend. "I _mean_, I'm moving forward with Kurt, no matter what you say."

"No, you're right," Quinn insisted, brushing a few tears away again as she tried to laugh. "It's for the best that we didn't work out. I just…" Shaking her head like she was dismissing some thought that Puck was really curious about, Quinn laughed again and said, "I'm going to get a rep as a turner, you know. First Finn and Man-Hands in there. Now you and Kurt? I'm going to have to move far, far away from Lima after high school just to escape _that _reputation, not to mention being a teenage mother!"

Taking his cue from the amused smile on Quinn's face, Puck chuckled with her, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously as he escorted her into the choir room. Before they parted, Puck to go sit next to Kurt and Quinn to sit next to Brittany and Santana, she said, "Good luck today."

He gave her a smile and whispered thanks, taking his place beside his boyfriend and still trying to figure out how to feel about the conversation. On the one hand, he was glad Quinn had gotten whatever that was out in the open, but on the other hand, he thought it meant that she'd figured he would wait for her to get her shit together and then they would get back together. Quinn _had_ wanted him. She was also the one who had said it was over, not him. To be fair, getting interested in Kurt had taken Puck by surprise just as much as anyone else. He hadn't been looking for something new, but he _had _acted on it, eventually. In the end, Puck liked surprises, especially when they led to sex.

Just before lunch, Puck checked over his outfit one more time – dude-sexy jeans, ass-kicking boots, the Def Leppard shirt Kurt gave him, and a badass leather strap around one wrist – and called it good to go. "Ready?" he asked the other boys in the bathroom, a group which did not include Kurt. Puck's boyfriend was getting ready in the ladies room, which Puck smirked at, further proving his point that he was, in fact, the dude of the relationship. Kurt could be the other boy, but Puck was definitely the _dude_. When Finn and the others nodded, some of their outfits a little more extreme than Puck's (Mike was wearing jeans that were just about ripped to shreds), Puck said, "Alright. Let's rock this motherfucker," and led the way to a spot just outside the lunchroom, waiting for the girls to show up. Oh, and Kurt.

When they had parted after glee an hour ago, Kurt had looked his normal self, in a long red sweater and skinny jeans, complete with a black shirt and tie under the sweater, his hair brushed into its normal swooping style. But now, when Kurt approached, Puck found his jaw dropping. Kurt was still wearing the skinny jeans, but he'd slicked back his hair, exposing the sharp widow's peak at his hairline, his sweater was gone, his tie and collar were casually but artfully loosened, and his sleeves were rolled up. The changes that most caught Puck's attention were the deep, dark eyeliner Kurt was wearing, the industrial steel chain he wore around one wrist, the studded leather strap around the other and the dark black disc-shaped earrings on each earlobe.

Grinning, Puck cried, "What the fuck, Hummel? Where did all this come from?"

"Do you like it?" Kurt asked, turning a quick circle to show off as Puck approached him. "I was going for a sort of Adam Lambert look."

"I don't know who that guy is," he replied, sliding his hand around to the small of Kurt's back and pulling the boy's body closer, "but you look damn hot, babe." Tilting his head at Kurt's ear, Puck asked, "How have I not noticed piercings before?"

"Oh," Kurt shrugged, kissing Puck quickly on the lips, "don't worry. They're magnetic. No real piercings for me."

Leaning in to whisper in his boyfriend's ear, Puck asked, "Not even a tongue stud?" letting his eyebrows do the suggestive talking as he leaned back again.

Blushing, Kurt replied, "No way, mister."

"Not even if I get mine done for you?" he growled, noticing the way the hairs on the back of Kurt's neck stood at attention and bumped up his skin.

In a voice much calmer than his goose bumps would lead Puck to expect, Kurt replied, "Nope."

Puck grinned before he remembered that it was almost showtime. Looking around, he saw that all the girls were dressed to the nines, wearing mostly black, in clothes that made them look both badass and hot. Oh, yeah. Puck was only half-gay, given how clearly he noticed that Santana was wearing a bikini top instead of a shirt and was wearing it _very_ well. Hey, no one said he couldn't look!

Mr. Schuester showed up just before the lunch bell rang, saying, "Our AV club and Jazz Band friends are all set. You guys ready?"

Looking around, Puck saw everyone nodding and Finn answered, "Sure thing, Mr. Schue." Was Puck ready to change his life forever? Was he ready to admit he loved Kurt, or could he bail and let the show go on without him? He was sure Kurt and Finn could cover his solos between the two of them if they did this song at Sectionals. He didn't have to do this.

But catching sight of that stupid smile on Kurt's face, Puck realized that he really, really, wanted to get out there and sing. He'd promised he wouldn't disappoint Kurt, and Puck was no deadbeat who went back on his word. Not when he made the promise to someone he loved. So, with a deep breath and a squeeze around Kurt's waist, Puck said, "Let's rock and roll."

Finn rolled Artie into the lunchroom first, heading for the drum set and speakers sitting conspicuously in one corner with a couple members of the Jazz band. They took a few seconds to get ready before Finn tapped out the beat and Artie came in with the guitar line. The instruments weren't too loud, since everyone would be singing without microphones, but the dope accuracy of Artie's fingers drew the attention of the room right away. As the background singers (including a gracious Rachel) danced into the room one by one, their voices gained volume surely and steadily.

_(Whoah-oh-a-ohh-oh-a-oh-ohhh)_

Kurt was the last singer to enter the room, with Puck waiting behind to make his entrance on cue. Everyone in the room was watching at this point, some of them on the far end of the room pacing around, trying to find a spot where they could see what was going on. Surprisingly, Puck saw some of his football teammates holding a line better than they ever did during a game, keeping the crowd back to give the glee club the room they needed. Who had recruited them? Finn?

When everyone was in place, backs to the audience and knees dipping to the beat in unison, they moved into the next part of the song with a flourish, turning around in two groups to the two syllables of the next word.

_(Thunder!)_

_(Whoah-oh-a-ohh-oh-a-oh-ohhh  
Thunder!)_

Puck's cue was coming up quickly and he took a few seconds to breathe deeply, watching Kurt dance with the rest of the team, his performance edged with fire. Puck felt like he wanted to _drink_ that fire somehow, pull Kurt as close to him as two human bodies could possibly get and prove how much he loved the boy. He'd start slow, touch his boy everywhere and … oh, shit! That was his cue!

Taking a running start, Puck slid out into the lunchroom on his knees between his team and the rest of the school to sing the last "_Thunder!"_ with the rest of the group. Jumping forward, Mike and Matt each grabbed one of Puck's arms, pulling him up so he landed on his feet just in time for the verse to start.

_I was caught  
In the middle of a lightning attack._

Mike and Matt faded into the rest of the crowd as they lined up on either side of Puck, boys on one side, girls and Kurt on the other, dipping to the beat in unison, like two warring factions, hell bent on violence.

_(Thunder!)_

_I looked 'round  
And I knew there was no turning back._

Puck played up the fear at being caught between the two groups, much to the amusement of the crowd of students, who started cheering as he danced back and forth, bouncing between either side.

_(Thunder!)_

_My mind raced  
And I thought what could I do?_

Kurt broke away from the group, dancing outward and pretending to ignore him as Puck reached towards his boyfriend, over the line of girls in his way.

_(Thunder!)_

_And I knew  
There was no help, no help from you._

_(Thunder!)_

At this point, Puck got swallowed up by the crowd and Kurt took over the vocals in a harmony to Puck's verse, which was lower pitched than the boy usually sang.

_Sound of the drums!_

Kurt pointed to Finn, who smashed a cymbal with a grin.

_Beating of my heart!  
The thunder of guns!_

Pretending to push them back with superhuman strength, Puck broke away from the group and careened toward Kurt as he sang.

_Tore me apart!_

Puck caught Kurt around the middle and dipped him down as everyone, including the two of them, sang the last line of the verse.

_You've been … thunderstruck!_

Puck pulled Kurt back up into a steamy kiss as they danced together and Rachel took over the next few lines, belting them out.

_Rode down the highway  
Broke the limit! We hit the ton._

As he and Kurt joined the rest of the group, still almost connected at the groin, Puck noticed how people were watching with surprise, but only a few expressions of disgust. Mercedes took the next part, her choreography pushing Rachel aside to take the spotlight from her with some humor.

_Went through to Texas, yeah Texas,  
And we had some fun!_

Hoisted to Mike and Matt's shoulders, Santana rode forward to take over her part, slithering down in front of their bodies as she sang.

_We met some boys,  
Some dancers who gave a good time._

Brittany joined her, drawing Matt one direction while Santana drew Mike the other to make way for Puck and Kurt as they took center stage again, Kurt singing first as Puck fell to his knees in front of the other boy, still dancing.

_Broke all the rules, played all the fools.  
Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds!_

Kurt reached down to pull Puck to his feet, only to be pushed back and down as Puck advanced on him and sang.

_And I was shakin' at the knees!  
Could I come again please?_

Puck smirked and thrust his pelvis in Kurt's direction before pulling his boyfriend back up and dancing them out of the way to make way for Finn, who had abandoned his drums to the jazz band drummer and was flanked by Tina and Rachel as he danced forward and sang.

_Yeah, the ladies were too kind.  
You've been … thunderstruck!_

_Thunderstruck!_

Glee members took turns belting out the rest of the song, which became repetitive, Mercedes' voice rising above the others in embellishment now and again. Everyone danced around Kurt and Puck, trying to pull them apart. However, just like in real life, in the dance, they only had eyes and hands for each other, crashing together after being pulled apart, grinding together, kissing at a few points, and making a damn spectacle of themselves.

_Said yeah, it's alright  
We're…doing fine!_

Eventually two sides formed again, pulling Kurt and Puck apart before they broke free and came together again, urging their respective sides to follow them. Within a few bars, both groups intermingled and danced as one group of couples, mimicking Kurt and Puck's close, grinding position to some degree, dancing in unison as the song came to a climactic end.

_Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah.  
You've been thunderstruck! Thunderstruck!_

_You've been … thunderstruck!_

Everyone collapsed to the ground as the line ended, hitting the floor in unison to the cheers of the audience. Puck found himself tangled up with Kurt on the floor, and decided that he was exactly where he wanted to be. Kurt smiled at him and mouthed, "Thank you," before trying to move away.

Puck grabbed the boy and held him tighter in a quick hug before letting him go so they could both get up off the floor. "One more for the road?"

"Sure, baby," Kurt smiled, approaching Puck so they met in a devastating kiss, arms wrapped around each other, in front of the entire school. The fading sound of applause and cheering was replaced by a commotion of people talking and a few wolf whistles. Kurt actually broke off the kiss first, beaming up at Puck and then turning to wave at the rest of the school, one arm still around Puck's waist.

Mr. Schue came up to the group with a bright smile, saying, "That was awesome, you guys! I think if we clean it up a little," he put a hard, but humor-filled eye on Puck, "this will be perfect for Sectionals."

A cheer went up across the group, several people patting Puck or Kurt on the back. The revelry came to an abrupt halt when a fight broke out a few feet away from them between several of the football players. "Fucking let me go, homo lovers!" Azimio shouted, punching one of guys holding him away from where Puck and Kurt were standing.

Needing to step up and defend his rep, Puck let Kurt go and strutted over to the fight, saying, "Got a problem, bro?"

"What's _your_ problem, Puckerman?" Karofsky asked, struggling against the dudes holding his arms back. Puck had no idea why his teammates were helping him, but he wasn't going to question it.

Instead, he stepped up as close as he could to Karofsky and said, "I don't have a problem." Looking around at the others, he asked, "Anyone else around here got a problem? No?"

"I knew letting you join glee club was a mistake," Azimio spit. "You've gone and caught a nasty case of the gay, Puck. You're a fucking faggot now."

"Okay," Puck replied lazily, looking the two troublemakers up and down, "three things. First off, I'm bi and second, I'm flattered, but you just don't do it for me, bros. Sorry. The Puckerman Express is an exclusive ride." He smirked back at Kurt, who had joined them, standing behind Puck with a hand on his back. "And third," he leaned in with a grin, "I've always been bi. Being in glee club had nothing to do with it. Think about that, dudes. All those times I was there after practice, showering in the same room as you guys? You're gonna wonder whether or not I ever checked you out. And you can wonder forever, because I know how much that thought scares shitless punks like you."

Puck smiled again and walked away, laughing when Azimio tried to break free of his captors. "Thanks, guys," he called back to his teammates, "for keeping those two fuckers from starting some shit they wouldn't want me to end." Catching Kurt's hand, Puck said to him, "C'mon, babe. Let's get ready to go back to class."

"This isn't over, Puckerman!" Karofsky called. "You sick-ass cocksucker!"

Puck turned with a broad smile and bowed, acknowledging the insult as a compliment, before turning and leaving everyone else behind. Only Kurt mattered now, laughing beside him as they escaped the lunch room and hurried down the hallway. They ended up at Kurt's locker, where the shorter boy pressed Puck against the cold metal and kissed him senseless.

* * *

Kurt knew they had been planning it for two weeks, but somehow, he didn't expect Noah to follow through with the lunch-time announcement. But now it had happened, his boyfriend had come out, standing up to the jerks that thought it was wrong or uncool to be in love with another guy. For Dior's sake, the whole thing made Kurt hot for Noah, wanting to push him somewhere private and just have at every inch of the boy. Too bad they still had class and Cheerios practice and evening glee practice at Rachel's house. There wouldn't be much time to be alone together until after Sectionals.

Noah pushed Kurt away when the warning bell rang, murmuring, "God, baby. I really wanna finish this, but I should go to class. Show my mom I'm doing better without her."

"Yeah," Kurt agreed, breathless. "And I can't go to class like this." He pushed Noah over by one shoulder so he could open his locker, taking off the earrings and bracelets first and stowing them in a small zippered case, exchanging for a brush and a can of hairspray.

Reaching past him, Noah grabbed the leather cuff, and growled in his ear, "I liked this one on you," in a tone of voice that made Kurt's knees week and his resolve waver, just wanting to meld into the boy behind him until the end of time.

"Awesome," Kurt nodded, shaking his head and struggling to regain control over his body as he turned around and pushed his boyfriend away. "Go to class. I'll see you after school."

"Okay," Noah grinned, giving Kurt one last chaste kiss before dropping the cuff into his hands and leaving, strutting down the hallway like he owned the place. At one point, Kurt actually saw his boyfriend feint toward one of the nerds who was staring, scaring the crap out of the boy before moving on. At least he hadn't actually pushed the kid. That was progress, right?

As he left his locker, Kurt saw Azimio and Karofsky coming his way, the scowls on their faces sending terror shooting straight through his body from head to toe. Noah was too far away to help him, and none of Kurt's friends were in sight. Except for Tina. "Hi, Tina!" Kurt said, grabbing her arm in his and practically dragging her down the hallway towards their after-lunch English class. "I thought you did a great job this afternoon."

"Hey, Kurt," Tina smiled back at him a little confused for how quickly they were moving. "Thanks. You were good too. Wanna tell me why you're ripping my arm off?"

Kurt turned back to see how long he had before death came knocking, only to see that Azimio and Karofsky had been waylaid by Santana. The cheerleader, flanked by Brittany and three non-glee club football players, looked like she was publicly shaming the jocks, getting her whole head and one finger involved in the action. "Well there's a new development," he murmured, pointing the scene out to Tina, who looked similarly confused.

In Home Ec, Kurt found Santana alone for a moment and asked her, "Why are you helping me and Puck? Getting the football team to stand up for us?"

Giving him a harsh look, all eyes and lips, Santana replied with a shrug, "You guys are on my teams. I need you both in one piece for tomorrow's competition and for Saturday. And besides, I'm _totally_ _not_ a homophobe."

"Then, why have you always treated me so badly?" Kurt asked, getting more and more confused by the moment.

"Because you're a loser and I don't really like your face," she replied, going back to mixing her cake batter. "You can have Puck, if he wants you."

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically with a little chuckle. Noah had told him that he and Santana hadn't been together since way before his Mohawk got shaved. "That's so _generous_ of you."

"I've got a million guys after me," Santana said as she poured the batter into a cake pan and licked the spoon. "Besides, he's too big to go down on. I really need a man I can blow without getting a sore jaw."

Kurt choked and laughed nervously, mumbling, "I know what you mean."

Giving him a scornful look, Santana asked, "Well, I'm not giving you any tips. Now get out of my face. I'm tired of looking at you."

Figuring that was the best treatment he was ever going to get from the cheerleader, Kurt left, sharing a fond smile with Brittany as he passed her, going back to check on his own cake. Halfway there, Brittany turned, stopped him, and asked, "Can I come to the wedding? I'll sing for you, if you want."

"Britt," Kurt smiled, "that won't be for a long time, if at all."

Tilting her head at him like she didn't understand, Brittany asked, "So, can I come?"

"Sure," he nodded, squeezing her hand in friendship. "You can come."

"Cool," Brittany nodded, flouncing back toward Santana and leaning her head on the girl's shoulder.

Smiling to himself, Kurt decided that today was the best day he could ever remember having. Noah loved him enough to tell everyone about them. Tomorrow's Cheerios competition would get him out of a math test, six weeks of detention and a mark on his permanent record. And the New Directions were going to kick ass at Sectionals. Even if this time they had to compete against teams that _weren't_ deaf or otherwise underprivileged.

* * *

Puck thought about skipping shop class at the end of the day, but he knew he had to show up and not act like a scared little punk. The guys in shop class were some of the worst, as far as harassing Kurt went, and Puck knew this for a fact because he used to be one of them. God, how stupid he had been, wanting to be seen as a badass instead of actually _being _one and standing up to those assholes. Today had been difficult, both before the performance and afterward, but Puck would not let them kick him out of shop, the only class where he was getting an A.

It started out right away, as soon as he showed his face in the room. "Hey, Puckerman! What are you doing here, homo? Home Ec is down the hall!" He thought those words might have been coming from Karofsky, but he couldn't be sure until he saw the shit-eating grin on the guy's face.

"Showing up to class, ass wipe," Puck replied with a smile he didn't feel and wondering if he was going to have to bust out his Fight Club moves. "But thanks for the tip. I'll know where to look for you after your junk falls off from all those steroids you've been taking. For god's sake, man," he grinned as he poked at one of Karofsky's arms, "are you trying to get kicked off the hockey team for doping? Tone it down a little, dude!"

"What?" Karofsky spluttered, clearly not following Puck's argument, which made him laugh and look around at the rest of the guys in the class, silently asking if any of them had a problem. Everyone kept their eyes turned downward, though they did start whispering back and forth when he sat down at his bench in the back of the room. Well go ahead and let them think whatever the fuck they wanted about him. Puck knew who he was and who he loved. These ass monkeys couldn't give a crap about being with the person they wanted and not the person they thought everyone else wanted. Puck had done enough of that with Santana and Quinn. Maybe once these virgins - because most of them had to be, seriously; Brittney made out with most of them, sure, but you had to be really special to her to get sex out of that girl, or any of the others - had slept with a few of the wrong people, they would figure that out, too.

Near the end of class, everyone had pretty much forgotten about Puck as they tried to put their small motorcycle engines back together and everything felt normal. There were even a few guys huddled around a dirty picture of some girl that Gary Kendrick had smuggled into class. When Puck passed by them, one guy said, "Hey, Puck. Look at – oh, wait. It's a _chick_. You wouldn't be interested anymore."

Rolling his eyes and explaining, "I still dig chicks, moron," Puck snatched the picture from Gary and took a good look at it. "Yeah, I'd do her. Nice tits," he said before tossing the picture back to the group. "Who is she?"

"Didn't you notice?" One teased. "That's your mom. From when she was young and hot."

Puck snorted. "That chick looks nothing like my mom, guys. Nice try though. See if it works on Karofsky."

Mentioning mischief against someone else seemed to make Puck alright again in their books. He laughed loudly when, after they'd showed it to Karofsky, the jock who had harassed Puck shrieked and tore up their precious picture before anyone could stop him and then they all freaked out. Fucking hell! Hadn't any of these dudes figured out that the internet _was for porn_? A naked picture shouldn't have been such a big deal, yet they were the ones ragging on him for being weird? Get a clue, dudes.

So what if Puck had fallen for a guy? It's not like Owen hadn't fallen for that fat chick in September. And Haverson had been going out with his fugly band-nerd girlfriend for three years, some said in the hopes that she would grow into that nose and suddenly get hot. Kurt was way more attractive than either of those chicks. No one could deny that. So what if he had a dick? It just meant he was better at figuring out what to do with Puck's when they were alone together. Everyone else should be _jealous _of him and Puck was just going to act like they were until it happened.

* * *

_Song used: Again, it's "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC_

_What did you think of Puck and Kurt's big number? I tried to make it as clear as possible what was going on without getting in the way of the flow of the song, but that's very difficult to do in prose form. What about the students' reactions? Santana? Thanks again for reading and reviewing!_

_P.S. To Gay-stats-man who left the anonymous review on chapter 1. You are using an old statistic, my friend. All the most recent, least biased surveys indicate that 2-5% of the population self-identifies as gay or bisexual, while a further 8-20% report ever having same-sex attractions whether or not they were ever acted upon (see Wikipedia for links to those surveys). I'm a scientist, by nature, so I'm just about contractually obligated to look these things up before I post them. I admit, I did have Kurt estimating a little low, but he was pretty depressed about being alone, so I did that on purpose. Thank you.  
_


	14. Past Mistakes

_A/N: Sorry this chapter is so late. I had a busy week and very little motivation to make the final revisions on this chapter. I'll post again this weekend, especially since this chapter is a little shorter. But, I think you'll like it!_

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**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 14 – Past Mistakes

Kurt's good day got ruined as Cheerios practice was winding down, Sue Sylvester's orders telling them to carbo-load and get a good night's sleep, "...or I will _personally_ shame you in front of the judges and your family members, who are, for many of you, the harshest judges you will ever meet. Aside from myself, of course. Now hit the showers, you miserable excuses for human beings!"

Before anyone got anywhere, two police officers, both tall, bulky men, stormed the football field, heading straight for Kurt's boyfriend. "Noah Puckerman?" one of them asked, matching the boy's frown. "You're to come with us, please." Holy crap! What was going on?

Kurt grabbed Noah's arm so the boy would meet his eyes, asking him with a glance what this was all about, but his boyfriend just shrugged and set a blazing look of challenge against the officers. Kurt thought the attitude compelling, but very unwise, especially when Puck stuck out his chin and said, "No way, pigs!"

Oh, this _so _wasn't good!

"Excuse me?" Sue Sylvester cried, stalking up to one of the officers and getting right in his face. "What is the meaning of this? If this is an arrest, what are the charges against my athlete?"

The second officer laughed at Coach Sylvester's use of the term "athlete" to describe the cheerleaders, making the coach whip her head around to face him. Oh, this was not good at all!

"Do you think my chosen profession is _funny_, Officer…" she checked his name tag, "…Newman? Would you like to know how many young men and women I've molded into careers of leadership and power? Would you like to know how many friends in the local, state, and federal governments my extensive and highly decorated career in the Special Forces earned me? Would you like to know exactly how quickly I could get your badge revoked if you don't answer a simple question, asked on behalf of my student?"

The officer who laughed glanced down at his shoes, but the other one stepped even closer to Miss Sylvester, saying, "Our department has been informed that Mr. Puckerman violated the terms of his probation by running away from home. We have a warrant to collect him and place him under house arrest in his mother's recognizance until a judge can see to his case."

"No," Kurt whispered, squeezing Noah's arm as the consequences of their disobedience hit him. Noah wouldn't be there for the Cheerios competition and they would be one spotter short. _Disqualified_. Since getting a few new recruits this year, they wouldn't be disqualified from glee club Sectionals the day after, but they needed him in order to win. Without Puck there would be a hole in their choreography, someone would have to pick up his solos, probably Finn, and they might have to go with that damn disco number anyway. They would lose. No more glee club until the next year. No fame, no applause, no win at Regionals to put on his college applications. No escaping Ohio. And after all that trouble, would Noah really want to stay with him? It was too, too much!

"You can't fucking do this!" Noah snarled at the officer. "There's _this _competition tomorrow and then the one on Saturday. And I _can't_ go back to that house. This isn't just some childish rebellion! If I go back there, my mom's boyfriend will _kill me_."

"Now, son," the officer who laughed said, "are you sure that's not an exaggeration? You'll be perfectly safe at home, where you belong."

As the officer tried to grasp Noah's shoulder, he flinched backwards and spat, "I'm a cocksucker! I'm fucking homo faggot because I love a boy! If I go back there, my mom's boyfriend is going to start shit and someone's going to get hurt! I'll … I'll do community service or whatever because of my probation. Put me in a jail cell, but you can't fucking bring me back there!"

"I don't appreciate your language, Mr. Puckerman," the second officer said, only to be glared at by Coach Sylvester.

"And I don't appreciate you leveling trumped up charges against this boy," Coach insisted. "If you go through with this plan, my Cheerios team will be shit-out-of-luck for tomorrow's competition. I have led this team to victory at Nationals _four years in a row_. That kind of success pulls a lot of strings in a small town like this, buddy. After a call to my close, personal friends Mayor Thompson and news anchor Rod Remington, both of you will be indicted for violent acts against an upstanding member of our community. Lopez!"

Santana hurried up to Miss Sylvester's side. "Yes, Coach?"

Facing Santana and crouching down, the coach pointed to her face and said, "Hit me right here, as hard as you can. Everyone else will swear upon the pain of death and losing their tanning privileges that it was Officer Newman who hit me, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Coach!" the whole team barked without question.

As Santana pulled back her arm for what looked like it was going to be one hell of a punch, Coach Sylvester stood up again. "You see that, officers? I've got twenty witnesses who will swear to the grave that you committed police brutality here today." Turning to Noah, the woman asked, "Mr. Puckerman? Are you willing to break your own finger to get out of this?"

"Hell yes, ma'am," he said, pulling his arm away from Kurt and gearing up to snap the ring finger on his right hand despite Kurt's urgent protests.

"Well don't!" the coach ordered. "I need you in top form for tomorrow." Then, she smiled and said, "Nice choice of digit, Mr. Puckerman. Have you ever considered a career in the armed forces?" Ignoring Puck's confused look, Coach Sylvester turned her attention back to the officers and said, "So, you see, my friends, when you tried to acquire this poor boy, who is a protected sexual minority, I might add, you broke his finger. When I protested your treatment of him, like any good citizen would do, I got clocked right in the face. Unless you walk away right now and tell your superiors that you could not find Mr. Puckerman, this will be the biggest story on tonight's WOHN newscast."

The officers looked at each other for a moment, obviously unhappy, and Kurt wondered whether Coach Sylvester's plan would actually work. Eventually, Officer Newman shook his head and said to Puck, "Since you're seventeen, if it weren't for the probation, running away wouldn't be a punishable offense." The officer paused for a moment to let that little tidbit sink in before he continued. "My job is to protect the people of Lima and these delinquency cases are usually violent kids heading toward a life of crime." Kurt scowled when one of the cheerleaders scoffed loudly at the implication that Noah wasn't headed that way. He'd been trying really hard to be a good person lately, and why couldn't anyone but Kurt and this officer see that? Officer Newman continued, "I can see that you're involved here at school, which is a good point in your favor. This _competition_ is tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir," Noah replied, Kurt nodding beside him in nervous fear when the officer caught his eyes.

"If you promise to turn yourself into the station on Monday morning," Newman sighed, "my partner and I will tell our superiors you weren't here when we came looking. Can you do that for me, son?

"My life's over on Monday," Noah nodded. "Got it."

"Officer Newman," Coach Sylvester grinned, patting him on the back, "you've done a _fantastic _job here today. I'm sure the Mayor will be pleased." The officer nodded unhappily and opened his mouth to respond, but Miss Sylvester lifted her bullhorn and shouted, "Hit the showers, babies! Tomorrow we take Sectionals by storm!"

Noah practically ran from the field, Kurt fast on his heels. He wanted to ask his boyfriend so many things, but he didn't know if it was a good time, or what exactly he would say. As they jogged, Kurt thought he heard Noah mumbling something to himself and he decided that was it. Kurt was allowed to ask his boyfriend questions. "What are you muttering about, sweetie?"

As if just noticing Kurt was there, Noah looked over at him and shrugged. "Just wondering who called the fucking cops on me."

"Don't you think it was your mom?" Kurt suggested.

"Nah," Noah shook his head and opened the door that headed down into the boys' locker room from the athletic fields, holding it for Kurt. "My mom hates cops. Though, I wouldn't put it past her dickhead boyfriend."

Following behind Noah as he angrily stalked to his locker, Kurt asked quietly, "What did you do? To be on probation?"

"A few things," his boyfriend replied, opening his locker harshly and tearing off his Cheerios shirt.

"Like what?"

"Does it matter?" Noah asked, stripping off his pants, which distracted Kurt enough to let the other boy continue, "My life is fucked no matter what. It doesn't matter what I did or what I do or who I love. I'll be stuck here, a Lima loser, forever."

Once Noah had thrown a towel around his waist and Kurt could think again, he cried, "Don't do this to yourself! You'll get out of here. We both will. Just tell me what happened."

"Strip," Noah ordered harshly, "and I'll tell you."

Confused over what might be going on in Noah's head, Kurt nodded slowly and said, "Okay," carefully pulling his shirt off and folding it for dry cleaning. When he was down to a towel around his waist, Kurt said, "Talk Puckerman. If I'm going to be your boyfriend, I need to know these things about you."

Noah shook his head as if shaking away the affects seeing Kurt naked had on his body. "I just got caught snatching a couple of beers from the gas station two years ago. And before then, I punched a kid whose dad was a cop. A few mailbox home runs. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" Kurt asked, following Noah to the shower room, his special moisturizing body wash and volumizing shampoo in hand. "They're going to put you on house arrest. I'm never going to see you!"

"I'll be the one locked away," Noah sighed, losing his towel and starting the shower. "Not you, babe. It's going to be hell!"

"When does your probation end?" Kurt asked, following suit in the next shower stall over.

"Next July," Noah muttered, putting his face under the spray of the water. "When I turn eighteen."

"This sucks." Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes when Noah raised one eyebrow suggestively. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Noah sighed, dipping his head under the spray again and hiding there for what felt to Kurt like forever.

* * *

As they were driving together over to Rachel's house for a glee rehearsal / pizza party, Noah asked Kurt, "Do you ever think about what you're going to do after high school?"

Wondering where his boyfriend wanted to go with that question, but smiling because he knew his answer, Kurt replied, "Only _all_ the freaking time. Why?"

"Well," Noah began, watching out the window as the scenery flew past, "like, I know you want to be on Broadway or whatever, but what happens in between high school and being on Broadway?"

Shrugging, Kurt answered, "I'm going to try getting into a drama program. NYU if I can, maybe UCLA."

Even though he had to watch the road, Kurt felt a shiver of relief pass through him when Noah finally looked over at him and gave a half smile, asking, "Do those places have music programs? Like, where I could meet other dudes who are actually _good_ and put together a decent band?"

Realizing that Noah was asking what kind of future he could have with Kurt, he replied, "Yeah, sweetie. There's lots of programs in those cities. Hell, at those schools. Though, I think we'd have a hard time getting you in. I'm a model student and I don't even know if _I _can get in. And with this probation thing..."

"But what if I can get my mom to let me go and we win nationals? That win would have to count for something, right?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, his chest clenching up in excitement. Could they take nationals this year? Everyone had gotten better this year. They had Rachel's voice, and that new guy was actually really good, and they had him and Noah. It could happen, right? It wasn't just wishful thinking, was it? "Yeah, winning at nationals would definitely help."

"Awesome," Noah sighed. "Because I gotta get out of this cow town."

"This _one-cow_ town," Kurt added with another smile for his boyfriend. Even though he could be taken away from Kurt for almost a year, Noah was talking about a future with him. It wasn't just talk, was it? Sure, Puck could be a liar and a manipulator when it came to teachers or parents, but his interest in following Kurt had to be genuine, right? It had to be. Noah _loved _him.

* * *

Puck tried to sleep like Miss Sylvester told them to, but there was just too much on his mind. Never would he have thought moving out of his mom's house would violate his damn probation. Hell, he forgot that he was even _on_ probation. But of course, his mom would have told her precious _Andy_ all about it, probably trying to explain that Noah was now troubled like he always had been and the whole bisexual, dating a guy thing was just another phase of his rebellious youth. It wasn't.

Was it?

_There's a game life plays,  
Makes you think you're everything they ever said you were.  
Like to take some time.  
Clear away everything I've planned._

No, if it was just rebellion, Puck might like getting off with Kurt, but he wouldn't _love_ him like he did. He wouldn't be thinking about following wherever Kurt got into college and, if he couldn't get into school, working odd jobs in whatever city it was until he got his music career off the ground. Hell, in a big city, he could probably put together a pretty good band, get discovered, and sell a billion records. He had the talent and the looks to pull off his dream, and more and more, Kurt became a part of that dream.

It was stupid, wasn't it? They were both just seventeen. How could Puck rely on his relationship with Kurt to go on forever? But how could he dismiss the idea either?

_Was it life I've betrayed  
For the shape that I'm in?  
It's not hard to fail,  
It's not easy to win._

Puck wondered if there was any way he could set Miss Sylvester on Andy. She'd done a sweet job of eviscerating those cops, and Puck would love to see her subjecting his mom's boyfriend to such humiliation. That bastard would get what for and Puck would laugh himself sick. Sarah would be back in his life and maybe his mom would finally see he didn't deserve to be treated the way she treated him. She would see he wasn't a second chance at making a Puckerman man who she wanted him to be. She would see that he was the same Noah Puckerman as ever, just that he happened to be sticking his dick into a guy instead of a girl for the moment. Maybe forever.

If he and Kurt did stay together forever, would Puck lose his mom for just as long? Would she disown him eventually? Would he always be relying on Kurt's family to be his ties to Lima and someone parental? Would Sarah forget about him after awhile?

_Did I drink too much?  
Could I disappear?  
And there's nothing that's left but wasted years._

If she didn't disown him, would Puck's mom fight in court to keep him on house arrest until he turned eighteen? She probably would, just to keep him away from Kurt. Those were the conditions of his probation – it was in effect until he either turned eighteen or graduated high school, whatever came first. It was supposed to be his eighteenth birthday that came first, but maybe he could change that around somehow?

_If I could change my life,  
Be a simple kind of man,  
Try to do the best I can._

He could study up and take a test, right? What was it called? Puck fired up his computer and looked it up. A GED. That was like graduating high school, and it _would_ get him out from under his mom's damn thumb. How could she do this to him? It seemed impossible that learning one simple thing about her son could change Puck's mom so drastically. How could he still love her despite all the shit she was putting him through? If he did take that test, he could get a job instead of staying for senior year and save up money to move to wherever Kurt got into school. But what would happen if he couldn't get a band up and running? What would he fall back on? Being a pool boy for the rest of his life?

_If I could take the sides,  
I'd derail every path I could.  
I'm about to die.  
Won't you clear away from me,  
Give me strength to fly away?_

It didn't matter anymore. His life as he knew it was over. Maybe he could just skip town, or hell, the entire state. Go out to LA and try his luck. Hope that Kurt wouldn't hate him forever. Hope that they would find each other again, somehow. Even if it meant destroying their relationship for the moment.

_It's not hard to fail.  
It's not easy to win._

He'd waste his life out there in LA without Kurt. He'd waste it here in Lima, sitting in his mom's house and letting her control his life like always, because he realized that she'd been trying, even before Andy. She'd been trying to tell Puck how to be a better man than his father, how to be a good Jew, how to give the finger to the cops, and how to drink.

_Did I drink too much?  
Could I disappear?_

_And there's nothing left but wasted years_.

Unless he could get some help. He had friends now. He had Rachel, who was always spouting off her mouth about the lawyers her dads knew. He had Kurt, and he would not waste his life by giving up on his dreams. He would be with Kurt, no matter what anyone had to say about it. He would go to school wherever Kurt went, by sprucing up his grades and maybe applying for some music scholarships. He would get out of this fucking town if it killed him. Miss Sylvester had mentioned a career in the Armed Services…

_It's not easy to win._

* * *

_Song used: "Wasted Years" by Cold_

_So, what did you think? I really loved writing Sue and Santana in this chapter. And, I rounded the whole thing off with a bunch of angst! When it comes to Glee, how can you beat that? ;-D_

_P.S. I'm working a little bit on a sequel to this story, to finish off Junior year, but I want to get it done before I start posting, so it might be awhile. Also, I've started writing a few crossovers between Glee and Bones, so hopefully one of those threads takes off, since I absolutely love the idea of meshing these two fandoms! Any opinions for which story I should work on first (barring my muse becoming fickle again)?_


	15. Last Dance

_A/N: What follows is the promised chapter! Enjoy!_

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* * *

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**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 15 – Last Dance

In the morning, before Kurt picked him up to meet the bus for the Cheerios competition, Puck approached Aaron as the guy sat at the breakfast table, munching on his mini-wheats and reading the paper. Rachel was still getting ready and Puck had no idea where her other dad was, so he sat down at the table and said, "Hey."

Looking over his paper, Aaron said, "Good morning, Noah! You've been a busy guy lately, haven't you? Hardly seen you around at all! Want some breakfast?"

"Nah," Puck shook his head. "But thanks. Kurt and I are gonna stop for something on the way."

"Ah, yes," he nodded, setting his paper down and mixing his cereal with a lazy spoon. "Rachel told us all about the competition today. Are you excited?"

"More like annoyed that I even have to do it in the first place," Puck admitted, letting himself smile a little when Aaron laughed. "But can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the guy nodded. "Whatever you need."

"Is Rachel lying whenever she threatens the principle, saying you guys know some good lawyers?"

"No," Aaron laughed again. "She actually does that?"

"All the time," Puck confessed before plowing forward. "So, like if I needed a lawyer, you might know who to call?"

"What do you need a lawyer for?" Aaron asked, suddenly much more concerned, his brows doing this scrunching thing that looked exactly like one of Rachel's expressions.

"Apparently," Puck sighed, brushing his hand over his hair and realizing it was getting long again. Well, longer than shaved. "Moving out before I turned eighteen violated this probation thing that I didn't even remember I had. The cop said I have to turn myself in on Monday."

"I see."

"And I figure, since I had to move out for being gay, your big, gay lawyers might be able to put everything right with the judge … So I don't have to go back home."

Aaron nodded a few times before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a loud sigh. Oh fuck. This guy was going to see Puck was more trouble than he was worth, wasn't he? He was going to get kicked out of here and have to go live under Bert Hummel's roof and have the guy analyzing everything Puck ever said to Kurt within earshot. Living here was much less embarrassing and, he thought, better for his and Kurt's new-ish relationship. Spending a few nights a week together would be good, but no one in their right mind moved in together after dating for just a month. Not if they wanted to stay together.

But then, Aaron smiled and said, "I'll call my friend Barbara today and explain to her your case. I'll get you her number too. Hang on a second."

The tails of his robe's belt fluttered behind him as Aaron shuffled over the first floor's linoleum and hardwood floors in his socks to go get that number. He came back just a few minutes later with a post-it note and a phone in his hand. "This is Barbara's work number and this one's her home number. Tell her I told you to call if you got into any shit."

Noah chuckled, "Can I use those exact words?"

Realizing his mistake, Aaron shrugged with a smile and said, "Why not?

* * *

Puck went through the day on autopilot, just letting his body remember how all the cheering numbers went and letting his mind check out. He was sick of thinking, he didn't want to be there, despite how awesome Coach Sylvester had been the day before, and all he wanted to do was go home. To his real home, to his own bed in his own room, where his own Xbox was still sitting, neglected without him.

Despite his apathy, the Cheerios won their competition by what the head judge called a "landslide" and Puck smiled brightly at Kurt's enthusiasm when the shorter boy jumped into his arms after they'd been named first place. He hugged his boyfriend tightly, counting the minutes until Coach Sylvester said they could go. He wanted to skip the post-celebration non-fat, non-sugar yogurt run, but Kurt and Santana talked him into it, making sure the three of them and Brittany all got a booth together.

"Thanks for getting blackmailed into doing this, guys," Britt said with a small sincere smile. "I would have totally busted my skull if you weren't there to stand on."

"You're welcome," Puck smiled. He'd always liked Britt in a friend sort of way, even when he did her he was thinking how nice she was, instead of how sexy. Santana had been the opposite, sexy but not nice. Kurt was both. Suddenly Puck laughed to himself and explained to his startled friends, "I've totally had sex with everyone at this table! Fuck yeah!"

Kurt hit his arm and complained, "Noah! Don't go telling people things that aren't true. We haven't had sex yet."

"Oral, whatever," Puck shrugged, putting his arm around Kurt's shoulders and, enjoying the conversation as a distraction for how rapidly Monday was approaching.

"I've made out with everyone here," Brittany supplied, smiling at Kurt and bumping her shoulder against Santana's.

"What do you say, Santana," Kurt said in his mock-masculine voice. "Wanna round out this quadrangle of love?" He puckered his lips at her across the table and Brittany squealed in delight.

Puck found himself laughing as Santana squirmed in her seat and cried, "Hell no, gay boy! I told you! I don't like your face."

"Oh!" Kurt cried, holding both hands over his heart. "How she wounds me! Death may not come too swift."

"Unlike you, huh, babe?" Puck joked, waiting with a grin for Kurt and then Santana to get it. Brittany didn't catch on to most innuendo, so when she just sat there with a stupid smile on her face, Puck didn't hold it against her.

Kurt hit Puck in the chest when he got the joke, but he laughed, so Puck figured he couldn't be too mad for joking about that little bit of their bedroom trivia. They had a good time for the rest of the afternoon, everyone but Puck really riding the high from their victory, as long as Coach Sylvester wasn't looking, and Puck trying to soak in the experience of just being with people. After Monday, it might be a long time before he got to see people again, even if that lady lawyer could help somehow.

* * *

Kurt could practically feel the unhappiness just sitting next to Puck, like everything was already over. Noah was in a deep funk and Kurt wasn't quite sure how to fix it. He couldn't stand his boyfriend being so surly, sitting there in the passenger seat beside him, that blank stare on his face. So, instead of driving directly to Rachel's house for their last glee practice before Sectionals the next day, Kurt decided to take a detour. Instead of turning into the neighborhood he and Rachel both lived in, Kurt turned the other way, and drove into the lot of a city park. It was cold enough and late enough in the day that no one was around, so he parked his Navigator in one of the spots, killed the engine and turned to face Noah.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Noah tilted his head up and then around, looking surprised to be here instead of at Rachel's. Then, he faced Kurt and said, "I don't think so. I'm hoping Rachel's dad can find me some help." He shrugged and then smiled when Kurt grabbed his hand.

"I hope so, too," he said weakly, unable to think of anything else. "Are you sure you don't want to talk-"

"It's just fucking ridiculous, isn't it?" Noah cut him off, banging his fist on the dashboard in a way that made Kurt jump. "I mean, being with you I didn't expect anyone to ask me to join their church or whatever, but to say I _have_ to go live with that superior-acting prick? He'd probably smother me in my sleep, just to save my mom the trouble of dealing with me."

_Children behave, that's what they say  
When we're together_

Kurt felt tears leaping to his eyes. How long before Noah would realize that all he had to do to put things right with his mom was to break up with Kurt? How long before Noah smothered their relationship to save himself the trouble of dealing with Kurt? How long before he realized that dating any of the girls who wanted him would be so much easier than staying? How long before Noah broke his heart?

"Hey," Noah whispered softly, turning in his seat to wipe a tear that was rolling down Kurt's cheek. "What's wrong? Did I … shit, did I scare you? Hitting the dash like that?"

Kurt shook his head. He wanted to be strong for Noah, he wanted to help him get through this, but he didn't know how. And Kurt always hated feeling helpless, especially when he felt like the whole world was out to get him. He'd learned how to keep his head high and spit comebacks in public, but sometimes he just had to break down and cry. He'd never really done it in front of anyone before, this helpless, uncontrollable sobbing that would mess up his face for the rest of the night, until he could get his hands on a cool compress and the bevy of cosmetics in his bedroom and bathroom.

"Shh, baby," Noah whispered, pulling Kurt into a hug over the console between them. "I … all I know is that I love you. Okay?"

_And watch how you play,  
They don't understand._

"Do you," Kurt asked, squeezing his boyfriend tighter and sniffing away the tears, "want to run away? I mean farther away? After Sectionals? Just you and me?"

_And so we're running  
Just as fast as we can.  
Holdin' on to one another's hand.  
Tryin' to get away  
Into the night_

"God," Noah groaned, "do I ever. But we _can't_, Kurt," he insisted as he pulled back. "I need you to get into that fancy showbiz school, which means graduating. And the others need us for Regionals."

"What if you can't come back to school? What if I don't get to see you again?"

"Kurt," Noah said with a hard look, eyes darting back and forth between each of Kurt's, "I won't let them keep me away from you. Not forever. If this thing with the lawyer works, not even all that long."

"Even if you have to stay away until you're eighteen and free? Would you still want me after all that time? What if you meet someone else?"

"No one's as good as you," Noah insisted. "No one's as pretty and sexy and as badass as you. I've never loved anyone like I love you."

Not really believing the words, but wishing he could, Kurt asked, "Not even Quinn?"

Noah smiled and kissed him, saying as he drew back, "Not even Quinn. She was never as good to me as you are. She never _got_ me the way you do."

"You think I _get_ you?" Kurt asked with a little laugh. "Noah, you're a god damn mystery most of the time, brooding behind those gorgeous eyes of yours. I never know what you're thinking."

"If it makes you feel any better," he smirked, lips just in front of Kurt's, "I never know what I'm thinking either. Unless it's picturing what I want to do to you."

Shivering, Kurt said, "We _do_ have a little time before everyone's going to be at Rachel's."

"A little time is all we need," Noah smiled before letting Kurt go and crawling between the front seats and into the back. "C'mon, baby."

"Sweetie," Kurt muttered, brushing at the leather upholstery of the passenger seat, "could you maybe avoid getting mud all over my car?"

"Make me," Puck dared, crawling over the second set of seats to lie out on the bench seat all the way in back.

_And then you put your arms around me  
And we tumble to the ground  
And then you say_

Rolling his eyes, Kurt kicked off his shoes and followed his boyfriend, shrieking when Noah grabbed him and hauled, putting Kurt on top of him and capturing his lips. Christ, he was going to miss this! Kissing Noah was the best part of Kurt's day, bar none. Not even the rush of helping the Cheerios win their competition was this amazing. Not even winning Nationals with them last year was this good. Needing to taste more, to feel more, to show Noah how much he loved him, Kurt pressed kisses on his boyfriend's chin, along his jaw, and down his neck, smiling when Noah moaned, "Shit, yes! Kurt!"

_I think we're alone now  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around_

"What," Kurt asked as he reached Noah's ear, "were you picturing doing to me today?"

"Oh, you don't wanna know," the boy beneath him chuckled.

"Why not?" Kurt asked, rolling his hips against Noah. "Did it involve props or something?"

"No," Puck replied, both hands grabbing Kurt's ass, "I keep dreaming about fucking you. But I know it's not going to happen for a long time."

"Probably not," Kurt agreed sadly. "Is that okay?"

"Hey, as long as I can get into your pants somehow, I'm cool," Noah nodded, straining his neck and tight abdominal muscles to press another urgent kiss to Kurt's lips. "Please tell me that's what's happening now?"

Laughing, Kurt nodded his head before taking a moment to look down at the boy in his arms. Forget Finn Hudson, Brad Pitt, and David fucking Boreanaz, Noah Puckerman was the most beautiful guy Kurt had ever seen. Especially when his eyes were dilated and dark with sex, sleepy as he closed them and strained forward for another kiss. Kurt wanted this boy so much, he couldn't stand it, grabbing at Noah's shirt with hands urged on by a tidal wave of emotion.

_I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound._

"Want you so much," he whispered against the skin of Noah's neck as the other boy fumbled with Kurt's belt buckle, apparently just as eager. Since it was all he could reach, Kurt pulled his own shirt off, needing to feel all that skin on skin. God, he was going to miss that, too. Just as Noah was pulling the two halves of his belt apart, a phone rang from the front of the car.

"Shit," Puck swore, looking up at Kurt with sorry eyes, "that's mine. I'm waiting to hear about the lawyer."

Sitting back, Kurt said, "Go get it, then!" He watched as Noah crawled, shirtless with his pants loose around his hips, toward his backpack and, half-hanging over the console between the two front seats, answered his phone.

"'Sup," he said and Kurt expected Noah to right himself, but he didn't, leaving Kurt a view of his boyfriend's butt that had Kurt tilting his head in appreciation. "Okay, that's good," Noah said, reaching forward again to burrow into his backpack, making his jeans slip down a little further. Kurt stared. He couldn't help it. Now he was starting to get ideas. "I got it. Thanks, Mr. Berry. Yeah, we'll be there soon. Just driving back from the competition."

_Look at the way  
We gotta hide what we're doin'  
'Cause what would they say  
If they ever knew_

The snap of Noah closing his phone startled Kurt into breaking his eyes away from that delicious few inches of flesh. Rubbing his cheeks at the way they flushed, Kurt sat back, giving Noah enough room to crawl over. With a frown and one eyebrow raised, Noah growled, "Were you staring at my ass, Hummel?"

"Yes?" Kurt squeaked, wondering if that tone of voice meant he was in trouble, if Noah being bisexual meant that Kurt wasn't allowed to stare and, oh god, _fantasize_ about his boyfriend's backside.

With a toothy, almost predatory smile, Puck asked, "Were you thinking naughty thoughts about me?"

"Uh-huh," Kurt nodded, letting Noah press him backwards against the armrest of the bench seat as the boy's fingers returned to work on his fly now that the belt was open. Soon, his pants were gone and so were Noah's as the boy lay out on top of him, holding his shoulders and hips up with one strong arm and one knee on the bench.

_And so we're runnin'  
Just as fast as we can  
Holdin' on to one another's hand  
Tryin' to get away  
Into the night_

Then, he leaned forward and whispered into Kurt's ear, "Were you thinking about fucking me, gay boy?" Noah grabbed Kurt's dick and stroked it lightly, making Kurt nod and moan. "You seriously think you could top me? I'm the Puckasaurus, baby." Noah lowered some of his weight against Kurt, kissing the shorter boy's neck and pushing his erection against Kurt's in his hand. "You think I'd let you push this big cock of yours into me?"

_And then you put your arms around me  
And we tumble to the ground  
And then you say_

Kurt groaned, flinging one arm around the back of Noah's neck and pressing his hips upward as Noah stroked his hand down around both of them, imagining what it might be like to actually be with Noah that way, even if it sounded like Noah was just teasing him and it would never actually happen. "Fuck yes!"

"Oh, you think so, huh?" Puck growled, biting the side of Kurt's neck lightly. "You'd get me down on my hands and knees? You'd work this fat dick into my ass and pound away at me, baby?" Shit, Kurt was getting close, despite how confused he was by Noah's words and his tone of voice. "You'd leave bruises on my hips, pulling my ass back onto your cock? You really think that might happen, Kurt? You think I might like that? Do you think I would scream your name over and over again, baby? Do you think I'd beg for you to fuck harder? Faster? Kurt!"

"Aghhh!" Kurt cried, his back arching up for one final thrust into Noah's hand as he came, the sticky wetness spreading across his stomach and chest. "Oh, god!"

"I think someone," Noah chuckled, nuzzling against Kurt's exposed jaw line, "likes dirty talk. Don't you, babe?"

Kurt's moan of assent was unintelligible, which made Noah laugh as he slipped to the floor, using his tongue to clean Kurt's come from his stomach, which just about brought him orgasm again. "Were you…" Kurt asked, breathless as he watched, "….just messing with me? Just talking dirty to get me off?"

Noah sat back and shrugged, eyes down as he scratched the back of his head. Was he embarrassed now? He'd seemed so in control, so shameless when he'd been saying those things before.

_I think we're alone now  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around_

"Well," Kurt smiled, pulling at Puck's chin so the boy would look at him, "it worked, even if it's only a fantasy. Thank you, baby."

Noah surged forward into a bruising kiss, like Kurt had said exactly the right thing. As they kissed, Noah wedging himself onto the bench beside and then under Kurt, he wondered if his boyfriend was uncomfortable with what he really wanted. Like he thought wanting Kurt to fuck him was wrong somehow, or that it made him gayer than he'd admitted to himself he was. They'd work on it, Kurt decided. Besides, he didn't think he was ready yet for that kind of sex either. Even if it was _really_ fun to think about it.

Before he really knew what was going on, Kurt was face down in Noah's crotch and sucking like his life depended on it. Each time he did this, it felt like he got better at it, or at least Noah didn't whisper as many directions, just letting his head fall back against the window and closing his eyes, fingers ghosting over Kurt's hair and shoulders, and moans falling from his lips. Kurt loved being able to make his boyfriend this happy and relaxed. And it didn't hurt that he found himself steadily more and more addicted to Noah's taste. How could this relationship be almost over? How could Noah's mom be forcing them apart already? They hadn't even really begun.

_I think we're alone now  
The beating of our hearts is the only sound._

_

* * *

_

_Song used: "I Think We're Alone Now" originally by Tommy James and the Shondells, but I think Kurt would be singing the Tiffany version. My favorite is The Birthday Massacre's version, and I knew I had to use the song when it came up three times in two days on random shuffle. It was a sign from the iPod gods, you guys!_

_Anywho ... Wow, that got intense there at the end of the chapter, didn't it? What did you think? This is the big lead up to the last two to three chapters (depending on how much I revise), and I hope you'll like the ending. Like I said last time, I am working on a sequel, but I want to get that finished before I start posting, so I know I definitely have a plot and can update regularly (see my Bangel story for a complete failure in that regard…). Any thoughts, comments, or questions you have would be appreciated!_


	16. Sectionals

_A/N: Here we go. The next chapter! I hope you like it!_

_

* * *

_**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 16 - Sectionals

Puck rode in the back of the handicapped bus taking them to Sectionals, Kurt nodding off beside him, and stared out the window. Aaron said that his lawyer friend had agreed to look into Puck's case and that they would both meet with her on Monday morning to decide how to go forward. Aaron said there were a couple of options and that he would let the lawyer explain them to Puck so he could make his own decision. That was all he ever wanted – to make his own decisions. To decide when to go to bed, whether or not to go to school that day, exactly how many nerds he wanted to beat up before third period, who was going to be his next sexual conquest, and who to eventually fall in love with. That was all he wanted, and freaking _Andy_ had way too much to say about all of those decisions. He'd taken them away, he'd taken Puck's mother away and his sister. Andy had taken his life. And now Puck got to choose whether and how to get it back.

Fan-freakin-tastic.

Why did Sectionals have to be an hour and a half away this year? Why couldn't he just be up there, on the stage where he and Kurt belonged? Why couldn't he just live in the spotlight? Up there, everyone only cared whether or not you could sing. Whether or not you were willing to make a spectacle of yourself for their entertainment. Up there, Puck was a god. Everyone wanted him. No one cared that he was in love with a boy. All they cared about was the fantasy, and not the actual person. The only people who should care about Noah Puckerman, the person, were his boyfriend, his best friend, and his sister. Oh, and his mom if she could ever get her head out of her ass.

"Hey, Puck," Tina said, drawing his attention up to where she was looking back over the seat at him. By this point, Kurt was well and truly asleep on his shoulder, held there tightly with one protective arm. "I just want to say that what you and Kurt did on Thursday was really brave. And I think your number's going to win us Sectionals."

Brushing off the compliment, because he really wasn't in the mood for it, Puck asked, "Aren't you supposed to be attached to the wheelchair kid at the lips or something? What are you doing back here?"

"Artie's getting 'in the zone'," she said with a roll of her eyes, "and wanted to be alone with his guitar for a few minutes. I thought you looked kind of lonely, with Kurt asleep like that."

"Uh," Puck answered, confused. He and Tina didn't usually acknowledge each other outside of Glee. What could they possibly have to talk about? "Thanks, but I'm cool."

With a chuckle, she said, "You don't look very cool. You look like you need to talk."

Tina was only pretending to care about him because he was Kurt's boyfriend now, wasn't she? Another person who didn't care about him, but said she did because of Kurt. Just like Rachel and her dads, Burt and Carole, and Mercedes. "Well I don't," he hissed, trying not to wake up Kurt in his arms and turning back to stare out the window. He didn't need any of them. Except for Rachel's dads and their lawyer, he supposed. Shit, was Tina tearing up? Damn it. He never liked seeing girls cry. That's why he used to slushy and run, so he could imagine the indignant humiliation, without having to see the tears. "Shit, I'm sorry, Tina," he muttered, shaking his head and meeting her eyes very briefly. What had he been thinking? He _knew_ he had friends, real friends, now that he was in glee. "I'm just really on edge right now."

Nodding, she sniffed away a tear and said, "I'll leave you to that, then," before leaving to go sit next to Mercedes and Santana, who were singing softly together.

When they all got off the bus, Mr. Schuester stopped Puck, waving the others onward and putting a comforting hand on Puck's shoulder. "Are you sure you're up to doing Thunderstruck today? We can save it for Regionals and do the disco number instead. It's all ready."

"No, Mr. Schue," Puck shook his head. "Disco sucks ass. We're doing AC/DC if it kills me."

Nodding, the teacher continued, "You know, Miss Sylvester told me about how you're on the wrong side of the law these days. Is there anything I can do? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Unless you can tell me how to keep Andy from turning my mom into a Fascist Jew, I think I'm all set."

"Andy? What's his last name?"

"Something… Niel- Niemczyk. Stupid name, huh?"

Mr. Schue's face contorted into an expression that might have been surprise, if he didn't look so constipated. "I know that guy. Or I used to. I went to school with him."

"Can you convince him not to be such a douche?" Puck asked, watching as thoughts seemed to flit behind Mr. Schue's eyes. Man, he was bad at playing it cool. "What?"

"What, exactly, is he on your case about?" the teacher asked, squeezing Puck's shoulder with the hand that was already there.

"Mostly? The fact that I'm dating someone with a dick," Mr. Schue flinched at the word, but nodded.

"That's really strange."

"Why, Mr. Schue? Wasn't he always an asshole?"

"There were a bunch of rumors about him, but nothing concrete," the guy said uncomfortably, scratching the curly hair on the back of his head.

"Rumors?" Puck asked with intense curiosity. Maybe Schue had something really juicy that he could use against the guy. Puck was getting pretty good at blackmail. "What kind of rumors?"

"That he was ... well, gay."

"Holy shit!" Puck cried. "No way! Are you serious?"

"Like I said, Puck, they were just rumors, probably started maliciously. I guess I always assumed they were true because I heard it from my friend, Kevin, who I knew was definitely gay. He's living in Toledo now with his boyfriend."

"If it's true," Puck wondered, meeting Mr. Schue's eyes, "why the hell is he dating my mom? Why does he hate me so much?"

"Sometimes," the teacher said, "what people hate most are those who do have what they _won't let _themselves have. But like I said, it was just a stupid rumor."

Puck didn't know what to think. This could be the solution to everything, couldn't it? If it was true? If Puck could think of some way to prove it to his mom, she might dump Andy. That lying bastard would never really love her, since she was a chick, and that would suck so hard. Puck's mom might have been snippy and naggy and kind of a bitch sometimes, but she could be nice, too. And she deserved someone as nice as her, not Andy-the-complete-asshole.

"C'mon," Mr. Schue said, patting him once more on the shoulder before letting him go. "Let's get inside with the others."

Smiling for the first time since those few stolen moments with Kurt the day before, Puck nodded and followed Schue into the theater where the competition would take place. He had a new weapon to use against Andy and to get his own life back, complete with being able to see his boyfriend whenever he wanted.

He met Kurt just inside the doors, letting the boy slip his arm into place around Puck's waist and putting his arm around Kurt's shoulders. Soon. Soon they would be onstage. Soon Puck could forget about his crap life for a few minutes, sing his heart out, dance with his boy, and feel the rush of applause. This was what he was built to do. This was –

"There he is!" a voice cried and all of a sudden someone grabbed both of Puck's elbows from behind. Kurt got pushed as Puck tried to struggle away from whoever it was that had a hold on him and stumbled to the ground, looking back in horror.

"What the fuck?" Puck growled, turning his head to try to get a look at who had him. It was an older guy with a creepy walrus-mustache, so Puck geared up and threw his head backward into the guy's face, grunting in pain as his skull cracked against the dude's nose. Finn rushed forward to help, pulling the guy away from Puck so he could get an arm free and take a swing.

The punch never landed, caught by a cruel hand clamped around his wrist and tugging backward. Puck ducked and fought back against the new guy, only realizing after he'd managed to knee him in the gut that it was Andy, with his pristine blonde hair and his stupid, blubbery face. "Get the hell off me, man!" Puck shouted, pushing the guy away as Andy tried to grab him again. "What do you think you're doing? I'm not going to fuck you, if that's what you're after."

"Noah!" Puck's mom cried from the edge of the crowd around him. "What's gotten into you? I can't believe _my son_ would say such a thing!"

Keeping his eyes on Andy and his friend, Puck backed up slowly, offering Kurt a hand up onto his feet. "You okay, baby?" he asked quietly, still giving Andy and now his mom the worst stare he could muster. This was Sectionals! How could they ruin this for him?

"Yeah, I'm fine, Noah," Kurt said in his high voice behind Puck, setting a light hand on Puck's shoulder.

Pushing his way into the group, Mr. Schue cried, "What's going on here?"

Clearing his throat and wiping a little blood from his nose, the walrus pulled out a badge – a fucking police badge – and said, "As a state patrol officer, I am authorized to return Noah Puckerman to his mother's home. Please come with us, son."

"No fucking way!" Puck cried, so clouded with jaw-clenching rage that he tried taking another swing at the cop, only to be held back by Mr. Schue and Finn. "Give me three hours!" Growling in frustration as he tried to get past Schue and Finn, and hell, even Kurt, who was hauling backward on his belt, Puck lunged toward one side of the group, calling, "Ma! If you do this to me, if you keep me from singing with my team today, I will never forgive you!"

"No, Noah," she yelled back. "I've been too lenient with you over the years! First it was the bullying and then the stealing and the drinking. And now? I can't let you do this with your life, Noah! You're _my son_! You can be a good boy. You just have to be reminded of that."

Puck laughed, giving up against Finn's football-worthy bear hug. "Being in glee doesn't count, Ma? Giving up on bullying people for the past _year_ doesn't count? Finding someone I can be with for more than two weeks at a time doesn't count?"

"Not when that someone is another _boy_! Come home and we'll get everything figured out together. You know, Andy knows of this great program at his church…"

"Of course he does!" Puck cried, stepping back from Finn and throwing his hands in the air. "Was that the program that prayed you straight, _An-dy_? Were they the ones telling you that Jesus hates homos like you? Are they the ones that convinced _you_ that _you_ weren't gay anymore?"

"No," Andy growled. "I don't know where you got such an idea, young man, but this talk is going to stop right now."

Setting his arm around Kurt's shoulders again, he shrugged, "Then you're gonna have to fucking gag me. I can't let a closet case like you ruin my family. And we're _Jewish_, Ma! There's no way I'm stepping foot in this _church_ that Andy loves so much."

"Everyone!" the walrus bellowed. "Calm the hell down! Now, I can either take Mr. Puckerman into custody right away, or I can call for backup and have all of you arrested for obstruction of justice."

"Then arrest all of us!" Rachel cried, surprising everyone. "It won't make a difference in the end. We can't win without him."

Though Puck really appreciated the sentiment and how most of the glee club members got behind Rachel's idea, he couldn't let them throw the whole competition. They had to at least try to get through the performance without him. He couldn't let all of his … yes, _friends_ … miss their chance at a future. He couldn't fuck up Kurt's life with the decisions he had made. His mom wanted him to be a good boy, but he wasn't. That didn't stop him from wanting to be a good _man._ So, he called out, "Hold up, guys. I'll go with them. Just win this bitch for me. Oh, and Rachel? Get your dad to call his lawyer lady." Carefully stepping forward, he put his wrists together in front of him.

Grabbing his arm and thrusting his mouth against Puck's ear, Kurt asked, "Are you sure? I don't want to do this without you."

"I'm sure, Kurt," Puck nodded, using the few seconds he had left to wrap his arms around his boyfriend and kiss the hell out of him. "Catch ya later, Hummel," he whispered, his lips smiling against Kurt's until the fat fuck walrus pulled him back, handcuffing Puck's wrists behind his back.

"I love you, Noah!" Kurt called as Puck's three least favorite people hauled him away from the only place he wanted to be.

"Love you too, babe," he called back over his shoulder, catching one last glance of his boy, standing with wide eyes as Mercedes and Rachel hugged him. In a quieter snarl at Andy, Puck said, "And nothing you can do will change that, even torture, or brainwashing. You could shoot me in the fucking kneecaps and I wouldn't say any differently."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Andy insisted, a heavy hand on Puck's shoulder. Just outside the side doors, a state patrol car sat, its lights rotating slowly, flashing red and blue in Puck's eyes as the officer guided him into the back seat. Puck's life had ended just three hours too early. And there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

As Kurt watched the officer drag his boyfriend away, he couldn't believe what was happening. Of all the times to lose Noah, this was ostensibly the worst. "No," he whispered to Mercedes, who was hugging his right shoulder. "No, this can't happen. We have to stop this! Somehow, we have to do something!"

"I'm calling my dad," Rachel said, pulling out her phone and dialing. "Hi, Daddy. Are you here yet? ... Noah just got arrested. No. Here, at the auditorium. His mom found him here. He told me to get you to call your lawyer friend."

"While Rachel's on that," Kurt insisted, getting everyone else's attention, "there has to be something we can do."

"There's nothing," Mr. Schue insisted. "What we have to do now is figure out how to put the show together without Puck."

"Then you'll have to do it without me," Kurt breathed, breaking away from his friends and running after Puck. He didn't care if that cop was going to arrest him too. There was no way he could let his boyfriend go through this alone. Especially since all this trouble was over his relationship with Noah, despite what Finn said. He couldn't get up and sing about partying and positivity and love when the man he adored with all his heart was locked in the back of a police car without him.

"No, Kurt! Wait!" his teammates called behind him, but Kurt didn't hear them. At least not until he got to the parking lot and the cop's car was already on the move. Kurt ran alongside it, banging Puck's window to get his attention.

"We'll get you back here!" he insisted. "You'll sing with me today, Noah Puckerman, even if it kills me!" Noah smiled, but shook his head and shrugged. And then the car cleared all of the pedestrians and sped up, leaving Kurt running along behind it, heart pounding, breath rushing, and soul crushed. They'd taken him. They'd taken Noah away from him, like they'd been threatening to since the day Noah told his parents about Kurt. If he hadn't been so proud, if he hadn't made that stupid, shitty promise to himself to make Noah come out within a month, none of this would be happening.

All of this was his fault, and there was nothing he could do.

Two minutes later, when Carole and Kurt's dad pulled in to the auditorium parking lot to watch their sons perform, they found Kurt sitting on the curb, Mercedes once again wrapped around him, bawling his eyes out. Kurt's dad parked illegally and jumped out of his truck, grabbing Kurt by his shoulders and asking, "What's wrong, Kurt? What happened? If this is because of that Puck kid, I'm going to hurt him. Slowly."

"No, dad," Kurt choked out, trying to breathe even though all the air felt tainted and wrong without Noah there. "They took him away. Noah's parents. They cornered him and had a cop arrest him! He can't sing with us today. I don't know when I'll be able to see him again!"

"This is bullshit!" Kurt's dad growled, and Kurt was shocked out of a few tears at hearing his father swear. He didn't usually in Kurt's presence.

"You can say that again," Mercedes insisted, backing off to make room for Kurt's parents, but keeping a tight hold on his hand.

"Oh, honey," Carole cried, hugging Kurt close.

"I don't even know where they took him."

His dad patted Kurt's shoulder and said, "I'll find out, son. Why don't we get you back to your team for now?"

"Okay," Kurt nodded, hopeless and defeated. He let Mercedes and his parents guide him into the auditorium building, Finn meeting them at the door and directing them backstage to the New Directions' green room. Finn sat Kurt down on a couch and handed him a glass of water, letting Kurt stare blankly out at the room as people argued and plotted around him. None of it was enough. None of it would get Noah out of custody and back to the auditorium in time.

"Good news," Mr. Schuester called out over all the voices. "We've drawn the last performance."

"Which gives us what?" Kurt cried, standing up. "Less than two hours to find Noah and get him back here?"

"It gives us," the teacher insisted, "the time to rework our song to match this new group. Finn? Could you take over Puck's parts?"

"Some of them," Finn nodded, shooting an apologetic look at Kurt, "But I think Rachel should do Thunderstruck. It'll look better for the judges if she's the one dancing with Kurt."

"You're probably right," Mr. Schuester agreed. Could no one in this stupid state stand the thought of two boys dancing together? Two boys who loved each other? "Can you fit your voice around Puck's part okay if we run through it a few times?"

"I could do it right now," Rachel nodded. "We'll win this for Noah. We have to."

"Let's think through the choreography then, everyone. It won't look very professional of us to leave a hole."

"There's a hole no matter how we change the choreography," Kurt spat, stepping around the group to gaze out the window. "We're broken without him."

"We'll make it work, Kurt," Quinn said to him softly. "No matter how upset and disappointed and heartbroken we are, we'll move forward. Because we have to."

Kurt nodded, wondering how exactly Noah's absence was breaking Quinn's heart, before he whispered, "The show must go on." Sadly, he fingered his phone in his pocket, wishing it would buzz with a new text from Noah, one that said he was only playing and he was standing right outside. It didn't buzz. It wasn't even of any use, since anyone he could think of calling for help was already here. Except for…

Smiling, Kurt whipped his phone out of his pocket and selected a number he'd only had for the past week and a half. It rang three and a half times before a high-pitched voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Sarah. This is Kurt. Do you remember me?"

* * *

_A/N: Yes, I know it's a cliffhanger, but I couldn't help it! What do you think is going to happen? Will Sarah be able to help? What did you think of Kurt and Puck's reactions to Puck getting snatched? Any comments, questions or criticisms would be very much appreciated!_


	17. Crossing the River

_A/N: I couldn't hang onto this for another day, so I'm posting it now. Happy September First, everyone. Here's hoping now that this story is done, I have a much more productive September than I did July and August!_

_**88**_

**Texts and Insanity**

Chapter 17 – Crossing the River

"Of course I remember you, Kurt. You're Noah's _boy-friend_," the little girl giggled, singing the last word.

"Oh, good," Kurt replied. "I was hoping you could do something for me, Sarah. You see, I need to find your brother right away."

"Isn't he supposed to be singing with you? I wanted to go, but Mommy wouldn't let me."

"He is, but your mommy took him somewhere. Do you think you could call and ask where? It's really important."

"Okay, but I have to call, like right now. My grandma doesn't like me using the phone mommy got me. She says it'll give me the cancer. She's making lunch right now." Without a proper goodbye, the little girl hung up on Kurt. He tried to keep his breathing even as he waited for the phone to ring again, but it wasn't working very well. He tried focusing on the rest of the club as they modified the performance and sang together quietly, warming up, but that didn't work either. His hands were cold and clammy, his Gucci dress shoes didn't feel like they fit very well anymore, and he had a sharp pain behind one of his eyes. Probably from crying.

Oh, god! His face was probably a mess! Damn it! Finding his bag, Kurt excused himself to the bathroom to fix what he could before he had to be onstage. If Kurt looking like a ghoul wouldn't have damaged the rest of the team's chances of winning, he didn't think he would even bother. The only person he wanted to look good for was Noah, and he was probably thirty miles away by now. He would never get back in time.

Standing outside the restrooms, Kurt tried to decide which one to use. The men's room was probably more appropriate, but fuck it, the ladies' room was usually nicer. And any girls he ran into here backstage would be a lot less likely to harass him about using the mirror to apply a careful series of products to make his skin look perfect under the bright lights of the stage. Of course, he was at a glee competition, so maybe he'd be more likely to run into boys who understood.

He'd spent so much time trying to decide which bathroom to use that Tina and Mercedes came up behind him and grabbed Kurt's arms, making his decision for him and dragging him into the girls' room. "Thanks," he said softly, following as Tina took over one of the sinks, giving the evil eye to all the girls who looked at Kurt funny. She wet a few paper towels with some cold water and handed them to Kurt, so he could put them over his eyes.

As they sat together, Mercedes began singing quietly, probably to warm up, since she was in here with Kurt instead of with the rest of the team.

_Ain't no mountain high  
Ain't no valley low  
Aint no river wide enough, baby._

Tina piped in with a higher harmony and then Kurt came in with them, singing along as best he could with cold water dripping down his face. This was a complete and utter disaster. If only there was more he could do, Kurt would be doing it. If Noah hadn't wanted him to stay and sing, Kurt would have been in his car and following his boyfriend all the way back to Lima. Kurt hoped that when all was said and done, his idea to call Noah's sister would be a good one, that it would change the outcome of the day somehow.

_If you need me, call me  
No matter where you are.  
No matter how far,  
Don't worry baby.  
Just call my name,  
I'll be there in a hurry  
You don't have to worry._

'_Cause baby there ain't no mountain high enough,  
Ain't no valley low enough,  
Ain't no river wide enough,  
To keep me from gettin' to you, baby._

A girl with a surprisingly malicious voice broke in, stopping their song as she said from nearby, "Is it nerves? I know, if you're not used to performing, it can be a little intimidating."

Removing the towels from his eyes slowly and deliberately to look at the girl, who was blonde and bore an evil smile not unlike the one Quinn used to sport, Kurt said in a cool voice, "You wish, princess. This was because as soon as I saw your team arrive, I knew you had no chance and wept for your inevitable defeat."

"Whatever, you red-faced freak," she said, rolling her eyes and checking her reflection once more before looking down on Kurt and Tina as she left.

"Don't listen to her," Tina murmured encouragingly while Mercedes hugged him. "It's not that bad."

Kurt was about to thank Tina for her bald-faced lie when his phone rang. "Sarah? Did you find him?"

"Mom says they're stopping at the … state station? … No, state _patrol_ office, over there by you before heading home. I don't know where it is."

"I'll find it, Sarah. Thanks so much." Turning to his friends, Kurt asked, "Watch my stuff for a minute?" before assuming they would and bolting out the door.

After a little running around, Kurt found Rachel's dad and told him where Noah was, hoping that somehow he could help. Kurt had a promise, hastily blurted out as he ran along the car carrying Noah away from him, to keep.

**88**

As the walrus pulled away from the auditorium parking lot, Puck muttered to himself, "This is bullshit."

Sitting beside him in the back, Puck's mom hissed, "Watch your language."

"Watch your _ignorance_," he whispered back, sighing and staring out the window when his mom glared at him. That seemed to be all he was doing lately, staring out windows. That was all he would be doing for the foreseeable future, if his mom decided to imprison him at home. Staring out windows and trying to figure out how to get back to Kurt. Because at this point, everything was about him, whether or not Puck liked it that way.

Yes, he loved Kurt and wanted to be his boyfriend, but Puck kind of wished all of this would just go away. Maybe if he wasn't such a badass, he would have caved in to his mom's demands when she first made them. If Puck wasn't such a stubborn dude, he wouldn't have moved out. He would have let Kurt's deadline pass by and lose out on the best thing in his life. Now, it was gone anyway and he would just have to get reacquainted with his hand.

"How am I going to go to school?" Puck asked his mother, needing to know the answer. She couldn't keep him at home forever, could she?

"We'll figure that out later," Puck's mom snapped, her arms folded over her chest stubbornly. Huh. Like mother, like son, he guessed.

"I want to graduate," he told her. "I want to get into a music program somewhere."

"You should have thought of that," she said coolly, "before running away from home."

"And allow Andy to 'put me out of my misery'?" Puck asked, making sure to play up the horror of those words, even though the man was sitting right in front of him.

"He didn't mean that," she insisted. "Not _seriously_."

"Then I didn't _seriously_ mean to move out. Can I go back now?"

Sniffing and looking out the window again, she spat, "No. You're done with glee club, Noah. I know you like it, but you need to focus on getting better right now, and on your schoolwork."

"What about football?" Puck mentioned. "If we win our next game and make it to playoffs, I could get a football scholarship somewhere. How is missing out on that opportunity any better than keeping me from seeing my boyfriend? He's the one who wins all our games, you know."

"It's my job to make sure," she said, pointedly biting all her words, "you grow up to be a good man, Noah. With a wife and a family."

"Because _that_ always works out so well," Puck scoffed. "I don't know who I'll end up with, Ma. But I love Kurt right now. And I want to be a musician, a singer. That's no life for a family anyway; not that I couldn't have a family with Kurt. But it wouldn't be an _accidental_ one. Like with you and dad." He'd found out that little bit of family trivia from his Nana Connie when he was ten and hadn't been able to get it out of his head since.

"You _think _you love him, Noah," his mom said, ignoring the fact that Puck knew her secret. "But you don't! You're just-"

"I'm not confused!" Puck shouted. "You know, as soon as I can, I'm leaving. I love you, Ma, but I'm my own person. I'm _not_ who you wanted Dad to be. God, I can totally understand why he left."

"Don't you dare talk to me that way!"

Puck rolled his eyes at the manic anger in her voice and watched as they pulled up to a building. The walrus called back, "We have to do some paperwork here, but then we'll be on our way."

He hustled Puck into the station, a state police station according to the sign, and cuffed him to one of the bolted-down plastic chairs. All three adults went somewhere to talk, leaving Puck chained up and enraged. He wanted to rip the chair out of the ground. He wanted to trash the room and destroy everything he could get his hands on. His life was over. Why not add a few more charges to his police record? Why not go down fighting? Tugging on his handcuffs, he realized that it would hurt like hell trying to get free now. But what was that compared to the pain in his heart?

**88**

Puck sat for a long time before Andy came to sit next to him, Puck's mom nowhere in sight. "What do you want, home wrecker?" he asked with as much scorn as possible.

"I just want you to be happy and healthy, Noah," the bastard replied. "Because that would make your mom happy."

"You don't deserve her," Puck spat. "Tell me, does she do anything for you at all? Or are you gonna make her miserable because you never want to do it with her? Are you seriously going to tell my mother that you love her and then completely ruin her life?"

"I _do_ love your mom," Andy snarled back defensively.

"I love my friend Finn," Puck shrugged. "That doesn't mean I want to fuck him."

Andy flinched at the language before looking around and seeing no one. Then, he grabbed Puck's ear and twisted it painfully, hissing, "If you don't shut up about this, if you ruin things for me with your mom, I will personally cut off that appendage you seem to love so much. You won't see it coming, there will be no evidence, and I will have an alibi. You won't be able to fuck anyone, you useless little shit!"

Shaking his head at the threat when Andy let him go, Puck said, "I _knew_ you wanted to get your hands on my cock. It's cool. I'm pretty badass. Lots of people want me."

"Arggh!" Andy groaned, grabbing Puck's shirt and gearing up for what promised to be a painful punch.

"Let go of that young man right now!" a familiar voice called from near the station door. "This is unbelievable!"

Andy grudgingly unwound his hand from Puck's shirt and stepped away, asking, "Who are you?"

Turning so he could get a look, Puck cried, "Mr. Berry! How did you find me?"

Aaron smiled and stepped up, sitting next to Puck and glaring at Andy, "It wasn't easy. A few more are coming for moral support, but I'm here primarily to sign some paperwork."

"What's going on out here?" the walrus asked, sauntering back into the room, his big gut swaying in front of him.

"Ah, Officer..." Aaron looked at the guy's tag, "...Wimmer. I believe my attorney has faxed you a few court orders? Regarding Noah Puckerman?"

"What are you doing?" Puck's mom asked as she came around from the back, passing Wimmer as he went to go check on those faxes. "Who are you?"

"Ah, hello," Rachel's dad said as he stood up and shook her hand, "I'm Aaron Berry. My partner and I have been housing your son all week. Today, I'm helping Noah petition the court for a change in legal guardianship."

"Fucking sweet!" Puck cried, earning a frown from his mother.

"We're also asking for a waiver of his probation violation on the grounds that he was persecuted from his home. A state judge from here in Toledo has agreed to hear both petitions so we can get this boy back to his competition." Turning to Puck and smiling, he added, "She's a big show choir fan."

Just then, a few more people burst into the room, including Kurt and Rachel, already in their performance costumes - the New Directions had gone with black and silver this time around. "Noah!" Kurt cried, running over and throwing his arms around Puck's neck.

"Hi, baby!" Puck laughed, wishing his hands weren't tied down so he could hug the boy back. A few well-placed kisses had to do. "What happened? Did you already sing?"

"We're performing last, so we still have about an hour before we go on," Kurt confessed. "You're going to sing with us." Puck nodded at the absolute certainty in his boyfriend's voice. If only _he_ felt that confident.

"Let's get this taken care of people," an older woman in a suit said, facing Officer Wimmer, "I have a show to get back to. I'll need the use of your conference room and for this young man to be freed from restraints."

"But..." the officer complained, "he started a fight during apprehension!"

"You ambushed me," Puck said, trying to keep cool. He was sick of these fucking cuffs. "I'll be good."

"Take them off," the lady ordered and Puck was beginning to think she was the judge. He gave her a winning, sincere smile, figuring it couldn't hurt his chances of getting out of there in time for the performance. He belonged on stage with his friends, with his boyfriend, and now Puck let himself believe for the first time since getting snatched that it might actually happen.

**88**

When there was just twenty minutes before they were supposed to go on, Puck decided, fuck it, and told Kurt, "Go now. I'll catch up if I can."

"But..." Kurt argued, looking around. Rachel had already gone back to the auditorium with her other dad, Sean; Puck's mom and Andy looked more and more put out by the moment; and Aaron Berry grew more and more fierce about arguing Puck's case, which the boy thought was absolutely amazing and above and beyond the call of duty. Maybe he could finally see where Rachel got her argumentative nature.

"Hummel," Puck said harshly, but softly, as the judge made a call to someone, "I need to know you're there and holding up your part. They can't do it without both of us."

"What if this is goodbye?" Kurt asked, fear pinching his summer-blue eyes in a way Puck hated.

"Shove it, baby," he growled. "It's not. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Nodding, Kurt pressed a kiss to Puck's cheek and left. He knew why he had done it and he knew why it was important that Kurt get back to the auditorium on time, but Puck felt suddenly so _alone_ when his boyfriend left that it felt like he couldn't even breathe.

After a few minutes, the judge said, "I've made my ruling." This was it. The judge, though she seemed fair, also seemed like the kind of lady who would try to keep a family together, no matter what. She had that stern purse of her lips and that squint in her eye and Puck knew he was going to hate the next few words out of her mouth. As it turned out, he would never, ever forget them.

**88**

"We go on in two minutes, Kurt!" Mr. Schuester cried. "Puck's not here, which means we're doing this without him."

"He's going to be here! He has to. We have to wait a few more minutes, Mr. Schue," Kurt pleaded. "Please?"

"There's no time left," Mr. Schue shook his head. "The show must go on!"

Kurt took his place sadly, wishing he had never made the promise to sing without Noah. It just felt wrong now, like Kurt didn't have any music left in his heart when he couldn't know whether or not he would get to see his boyfriend within the next few minutes, or if it would be almost a year. How was he going to be able to get out there and give it his best, help the team win Sectionals, if he had to focus most of his effort on keeping himself from crying?

When Mr. Schue called for it, Kurt took his place at the side of the stage, waiting as Rachel and Finn started their duet. Finn started out, taking center stage as the music came up, a heavy beat, and the spotlight brightened on him. His voice was stronger this year, and fast as the song began.

_Midnight, gettin' uptight, where are you?  
You said you'd meet me, now it's quarter to two  
I know I'm hangin' but I'm still wantin' you._

Rachel's first few words almost overlapped Finn's as she took over the song, circling Finn as she sang. Kurt had been happy for them, once he got over the lingering resentment he had towards Finn for what had happened during Week Gaga. And really, they deserved each other, right?

_Hey, Jack, it's a fact they're talkin' in town  
I turn my back and you're messin' around  
I'm not really jealous, don't like lookin' like a clown_

Well now, when Kurt had been introduced to something that exciting and sweet and heart wrenching, only to have it taken away again, he felt this jealous rage building up inside of him as he watched them perform, singing the next two lines together.

_I think of you every night and day  
You took my heart and you took my pride away._

Everyone came in on the chorus, though most of them were still hiding behind a screen, their outlines backlit and visible as they changed poses every few beats.

_I hate myself for loving you  
Can't break free from the things that you do  
I wanna walk but I run back to you  
That's why I hate myself for loving you_

It was a good thing the audience and the judges were eating it up. Then, Tina and Artie took over, singing to each other as Artie rolled her out on his lap. The entire audience gave a soft, "Aww," and Kurt felt like setting something on fire. Nobody would ever "Aww" over his relationship with Noah, would they? People would leave them alone if they knew what was good for them, but they would never be jealous of his relationship with Puck. At least he could smirk at the girls Noah had dated before, knowing he was the only one superior enough to hang onto the guy.

_Daylight, spent the night without you  
But I've been dreamin' 'bout the lovin' you do  
I won't be as angry 'bout the hell you put me through._

But there was still this niggling insecurity that if Noah did have to go home with his mom, he would forget about Kurt. On his eighteenth birthday, when he was free, would he come for Kurt? Or would he try to meet someone else? A girl? Another boy? That would just take the cake, wouldn't it? Kurt and Noah had each learned how to be with another boy together, and then Noah would just take that knowledge and move on.

It was a stupid insecurity, though, and one that Kurt didn't have time for. He was better than that. Even if Noah missed the competition, there was nothing saying he would be going home with his mother, was there? God, why wasn't he here yet?

Mercedes stepped out onto stage, taking the next verse, her diva attitude in full force, really getting into the Joan Jett vibe of the song.

_Hey, man, bet you can treat me right  
You just don't know what you was missin' last night  
I wanna see your face and say forget it just for spite._

_I think of you every night and day  
You took my heart and you took my pride away._

With one last deep breath, Kurt pasted on what he hoped was an enthusiastic smile and joined the rest of the choir on the stage, stepping out with Brittany, dancing with her, even though they were the same height when she was wearing ballroom heels. But he was taking Noah's place in the choreography as best he could, and so even if it looked a little silly, he would do it. As the second repetition of the chorus started, Kurt sang his heart out, feeling it so much more than he had a few weeks before. He loved Noah. Maybe he shouldn't, but he did. And now the boy was gone.

Santana and Matt danced past them in the middle of the stage, and then Mike and Quinn. Two of the new kids followed after Kurt and Brittany and soon he was part of an intricate eight-person dance as Rachel, Finn, Artie, and Tina kept singing, playing out their roles at the front of the stage. Kurt was supposed to be down there with them, dancing with Mercedes to round out the other side of the stage. Instead, she danced with the other new girl, who'd been recruited last minute because Kurt was the only guy who could fill in for Noah, after watching him dance over and over again in the past month (and even before that, if he was honest with himself).

_I hate myself for loving you  
Can't break free from the things that you do  
I wanna walk but I run back to you._

Kurt sang and he danced, appreciating how Brittany kept shooting him encouraging smiles. Or at least, he took them that way. She could have just been happy to perform. For all the problems Brittany had in class, she was at home up on the stage. Like him. Like the rest of the glee club.

Noah belonged here, too.

_I hate myself for loving you._

**88**

The first song came to a close and this next one was going to be "Thunderstruck", so everyone cleared the stage. Finn rolled Artie out as the boy in the chair began the song on his guitar, parking Artie to the far side of the stage, but still close enough to center to be part of the action. The others danced out one by one and Kurt was supposed to be at the end of the line, with Rachel following later for her big entrance. But then, at the last moment, Rachel took her original place in front of Kurt, giving him an encouraging nod just before she danced out onto stage.

_(Woah-oh-a-oh-oh-a-oh-ohhh)_

Did this mean Noah was coming? Was there a last minute choreography change that Kurt had missed when he was at the police station with Noah? Why hadn't anyone told him? Kurt danced onto stage when it was his turn, noting that it did look like Rachel had led everyone into the original choreography. This had to mean Noah was coming didn't it? Kurt tried not to, but he kept shooting nervous glances off stage, looking for his boyfriend.

_(Woah-oh-a-oh-oh-a-oh-ohhh  
Thunder!)_

The cue was coming up! Where was he? What had Rachel been thinking? This was all going to go down in flames and tears and …

Suddenly, heart up in his throat and breath growing short as he tried to sing, Kurt spotted a dark figure running up one of the auditorium aisles, sprinting toward the stage and leaping up the stairs at the side, sliding on his knees into the spotlight. He was here! Noah was here and free and everything was going to be okay!

_I was caught  
In the middle of a lightning attack!_

Somehow, he managed to belt out his verse without sounding out of breath, even after sprinting. God, that was impressive! And then Noah was dancing in the group with him and met Kurt's smile with a bright one of his own and a sparkle in his eye. A few lines later, when he managed to break away from the pack of dancers and catch him, Noah kissed Kurt right on the lips, even though Mr. Schue had told them to cut that part. A cheer went up from one section of the audience and Kurt wondered if that was where his parents were sitting. He hoped it was.

The song went on perfectly, without any more unscripted kisses and when he and Noah collapsed to the ground together, there wasn't time for anything more than an excited smile and a quick squeeze of Kurt's hand. As they moved on to their third and final number, Kurt felt like a huge weight was lifted from his world.

Artie began the song, his smooth, low voice really setting the tone for the sedate, powerful pace of the song.

_Nature, nurture, heaven and home.  
Sum of all and by them driven  
To conquer every mountain shown,  
But I've never crossed the river._

Finn and Mercedes came in with the next verse, walking out onto stage hand in hand, only to go their separate ways halfway toward the audience.

_Brave the forest, brave the stone,  
Brave the icy winds and fire,  
Braved and beat them on my own,  
Yet I'm helpless by the river._

Next up were Quinn, Santana and Puck, all singing together, breaking apart again so that there were three girls on one side of the stage and three boys on the other.

_Angel, angel, what have I done?  
I faced the quakes, the wind, the fire.  
I've conquered country, crown and throne.  
Why can't I cross this river?_

Brittany, the new guy, and both of the new girls took the repetition of the "Angel, angel," verse and then it was Kurt, Matt and Mike's turn.

_Pay no mind to the battles you've won.  
It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle  
Open your heart and hands my son,  
Or you'll never make it o'er the river._

Finally, it was Rachel's cue to come onto the stage and unite the two groups with her voice, begging them to join her in a slow, almost ballet-like dance that Brittany had taught everyone.

_It'll take a lot more than words and guns  
A whole lot more than riches and muscle._

As everyone's voices joined Rachel's, Kurt noticed how the air felt lighter and easier to breathe. His feet felt quicker to dance, his throat more eager to sing. This was what it felt like to be Finn and Rachel, wasn't it? Except for the entire-foot-difference in height… Kurt shared another smile with Noah as they passed each other while dancing, holding his hand out further for a second, just to brush his fingertips along his boyfriend's arm.

_The hands of the many must join as one  
And together we'll cross the river._

_It'll take a lot more than words and guns  
A whole lot more than riches and muscle.  
The hands of the many must join as one  
And together we'll cross the river._

As the lights went down and the music drew to a close, the auditorium grew silent and in that split-second before the roaring, deafening applause began, Noah reached over and grabbed Kurt's hand, making him realize something. No one could ever keep them apart again.

**88**

As the rest of the glee club took their bows and exited the stage, Puck grabbed Kurt around the middle and spun him around, loving the way he laughed so easily. Somehow, everything had gone right. Everything was going to be alright! Kurt was in his arms. Puck was free! No one was going to try to take him away again. Puck and Kurt tripped from the stage with the rest of their team, arms wrapped around each other. As they got backstage and the passageway became maze-like, Puck pulled Kurt aside, pushing him up against one of the walls and kissing the hell out of him.

"I'm yours, baby," he murmured with a smile, brushing his nose along Kurt's cheekbone. "All yours."

"What happened after I left?" Kurt asked, his hands ghosting over Puck's ass and then pulling him closer.

"After Aaron told the judge what he saw, she declared my mom's house a hostile environment or some shit! Because of Andy! I don't have to stay there!"

"What about your sister?" Kurt asked, and it was so cute how concerned he was for the little twerp.

"My mom has to have a social worker over on Monday to talk to Sarah! Can you fucking believe that? She'll probably be able to stay, but Aaron agreed to take her in too, if need be."

"You're taking over Rachel's house!"

"Speaking of," Puck laughed, hugging Kurt and kissing his neck, "while Aaron was driving me back here, and I was changing into this shit, he made me promise not to lay a hand on Rachel! Can you believe that?"

"Found out about your lingering appreciation for the females?" Kurt shuddered in Puck's arms and he laughed again.

"Yeah, but it's cool. I already promised Finn, anyway." He kissed Kurt again, putting a little tongue into it to daze the boy. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you wanted to be exclusive, right?"

"Obviously," Kurt agreed with a roll of his eyes before breaking into another grin. "I'm not sharing you with anyone, Noah Puckerman. Not even your beloved MILFs."

Laughing, they kissed again, Puck setting his feet just a little further apart so he would be the same height as Kurt and pressing as much of his body against his boyfriend as was physically possible. They kissed for far too long, since Mercedes came looking for them, calling, "Where are you crazy horn-dogs?" When she found them, Puck refused to acknowledge her presence until she actually tapped his shoulder. "Come on. They're going to announce the winners soon."

"I bet we won," Kurt smirked, pushing until Puck backed off, but keeping Puck's hand in his.

"Yeah," Puck agreed. "We totally owned that mother. Especially after I got there."

"Anyone wanna bet on how long it takes Rachel to suggest we start rehearsing for Regionals?" Mercedes asked, and Puck saw that she took Kurt's other hand in a friendly gesture.

That was cool. Anyone who made his boy happy was alright in Puck's book. Opening those pretty lips of his, Kurt said, "I bet forty-five seconds," and everyone laughed, including Puck, which was a nice change from how the rest of his week had been going. In fact the whole month since he had gone insane had been _interesting_ and painful at times, but this moment, holding Kurt's hand and laughing, feeling completely in love for the first time in his life, made everything worth it.

**88**

…

The End!

…

**88**

_Songs used: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gay;, "I Hate Myself For Loving You" by Joan Jett, which was suggested by the ever-talented and musically literate __**Pyropadawa;**__ a tiny bit of "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC; and "The Humbling River" by Puscifer, which is an absolutely beautiful song and you should go listen to it __**right away**__._

_For your further enjoyment, I have included a little epilogue!_

**88**

Rachel smiled brightly as she read the magazine article, "...Kurt Hummel and Noah Puckerman showed great courage coming out to their classmates in such a spectacular manner, winning the Western Ohio Show Choir Sectional Competition with their rendition of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck". All across the state more and more gay and lesbian teens are declaring their sexualities while still in High School, which we at Ohio Magazine see this trend as a boon to our state, letting our children learn to be themselves and to tolerate those who are different. Only by changing attitudes towards sexual minorities can our state continue to thrive in modern America!

"Hummel's and Puckerman's classmates have been remarkably supportive, which is unsurprising at an institution whose Cheer squad won their National competition with both Mr. Hummel and a handi-capable young firecracker named Becky Jackson playing integral roles in that victory. Keep on, William McKinley High School. We at Ohio Magazine hope to see your attitude of inclusion and tolerance lead other High Schools in this state toward loftier, twenty-first century ideals."

Rachel took a deep breath as she finished, beaming up at the rest of the glee club before saying, "There's rumors this story may go national! Especially since Jacob Ben Israel put the clip of our lunch room performance up on You Tube."

Beside Kurt, Puck groaned, "Oh god, no!" and let his head fall into his hands.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Kurt asked his boyfriend, rubbing the boy's back and worrying what stupid thought could be going through his head now. "If this goes national, we could get discovered! We could make it big before even graduating..."

Instead of answering, Noah just groaned again, head hanging between his knees.

"What's wrong, dude?" Finn asked, turning around in his chair. "I thought the whole idea of that number was to announce your relationship to the world."

"To the school!" Puck amended and Kurt felt a sharp pain of the insult in his heart. He knew he should give Noah a little more slack. He'd only gotten used to the idea of liking boys since striking up a romance with Kurt three months ago. Kurt could see how that adjustment might take a while if you weren't born knowing exactly what you were. "And that article doesn't have its facts right. I'm bi, not gay! But if I protest, no one's going to believe me!"

Kurt knew the distinction meant a lot to Noah, but he was sick of hearing it. Every time he made the argument, Kurt felt like he wasn't good enough for Puck and insecure that Noah would decide at any moment that he was sick of Kurt and needed a woman. "It's just a label, Noah," Kurt said, his voice colder than he wanted it to be. "If you're with me, and only me, why does it matter that everyone thinks you're gay?"

"Because," he pouted, "all those ladies won't know they missed their chance to be with Puckzilla now that I'm yours, baby. They'll start asking me about shoes and crap. Dudes won't talk to me about sports and video games. They'll take away my bro card!"

Kurt smiled, reassured that it was just Noah's vanity making him pout and not an overwhelming need to fuck a woman.

"I won't get to brag about how I beat Super Mario Brothers Two in twenty-three minutes!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and chuckled, kissing Noah's freshly shaved head. "You can still brag about those things, sweetie," he sighed with a smile. "No one would _dare_ take away your bro card."

"Fuuuck," he continued, "and my _grandmother_ gets that magazine. There's going to be all these awkward _questions_."

"You don't think your mom already told her? You did move out," Kurt reminded him. "That's big news, isn't it?"

"My mom and her mom don't talk unless it's a holiday. There haven't been any big holidays since I moved out. She probably doesn't even know!"

In the background, Mercedes asked Quinn, "Wasn't it Hanukah over Christmas break?" and the blonde girl nodded with a confused look on her face.

"Calm down, dude!" Finn cried at Puck, shaking his shoulder with one hand. "It's not a big deal. You and Kurt should just go visit your grandma and talk to her in person. She lives in town, doesn't she?"

"Next town over," Puck nodded, looking up at Kurt with the question on his face.

"We can go whenever you want, baby," Kurt smiled, kissing Noah lightly on the lips.

"After school?"

"Sure," Kurt nodded, glad that football season was over and basketball season had yet to begin. These days Noah's only afterschool activity was glee, which gave them a lot more time for making out and other, sex-like activities. Or, in today's case, going to visit his grandmother.

"I'll drive," Noah insisted, standing up as the bell rang, letting Kurt catch his hand as they left the choir room.

"Oh, no," Kurt argued. "What did I tell you about that death trap you call a truck?"

"That you would never ride in it under any circumstances," Noah laughed, obviously feeling better about the article now. They split up to go to their lockers with a quick kiss and no one even batted an eye. Kurt was glad people were getting used to them. Even the hockey players. Of course, Puck had to beat up Dave Karofsky Fight Club-style before that lesson sunk in, but when word got around that the jock was out of school for three days with a pair of broken ribs, people pretty much stopped harassing Kurt, especially when Puck was around.

Though there _had been_ an anonymous campaign against Noah in particular and as Kurt watched his boyfriend out of the corner of his eye ball up and throw to the ground another hate-note, he wondered when it would stop. Kurt was pretty sure that the notes didn't bother Noah anymore, but the first few had been something they had to get over together, especially when there was an envelope of dead cockroaches along with the first note. They both had to remember that it was just stupid assholes jealous of them and their glamorous relationship. Or, at least Kurt liked to describe them as glamorous. Puck insisted they were _badass_ and glamorous was too girly to describe a couple consisting of two dudes, but that was where they just agreed to disagree.

**88**

_A/N: Once again, thanks to all of you who have followed this story and especially to those of you who have taken the time to review. Many of you reviewed almost every chapter, and for that I am ever so grateful. I've had a rough six weeks, and all of the love for this story really helped me get through it. Adieu, mine readers. Until next time!_

_~Ptera_

_P.S. I have more slash, mostly of the Angel/Spike variety, as well as a little Puckurt one- (maybe two-) shot, on my profile page, if you'd like to check those out. Also, I have in the works a Bones/Glee crossover which may or may not ever see the light of day. It's Kurt/Zack with some heavy Booth/Brennan and a little Booth/Brittany in the beginning. Everyone's in high school and Puck has been framed for a crime he didn't commit. If there's any interest in this story, please let me know either in a review or a PM, and keep me on author alert so you can find it when I do start posting._

_P.P.S. I 3 all my readers!_


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